Dream of Me
by Fathom-x
Summary: The dream world was her playground, everything was at her beck & call, & nothing occurred that she didn't want to happen...that is until she encounters Ichigo, & everything begins to spiral out of control. IR Paranormal/Lemons Ch-20: Follow the White...
1. Chapter 01: Ugly Duckling

**Title: _Dream of Me_**

**Warnings:** AU, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance, Horror, Violence, Mystery, OOC, Smut

**Pairings:** Ichigo x Rukia

**Disclaimer:** Bleach is the property of Tite Kubo.

**Summary:** The dream world was her playground, everything was at her beck and call, and nothing occurred that she didn't want to happen . . . that is until she encounters Ichigo, and everything begins to spiral out of control.

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**Prologue**

_Rukia watched indifferently from a distance, shrouded in a mist of falling snow. _

_Countless nubile young women surrounded a lanky young man with glasses. They taunted him with slow caresses and lust filled eyes. "Master, what would you give to have us?" Seduction dripped from their voices._

"_Anything, my soul, I don't care." The man answered distractedly._

_Unbeknown to the man, a light exited his chest and flew to the woman waiting in the distance with an open scroll of paper. As soon as the light hit the paper, a name appeared on the list. _

_Peter Schmidt._

_She had chosen Peter this time because, despite his personal success at creating a multi-billion dollar company he had done a lot of evil deeds to achieve his ends. _

_Aizen-sama, should be appeased by the length of her list this time, and she would able to escape the fires of hell for one more day at least by meeting the minimum quota for the day._

_She ignored the writhing figures on the endless miles of satin sheet as she rolled up the scroll and tucked it in her robes and exited the dream. _

_She had one more destination she wanted to go before turning in tonight's list to the Oneroi home world._

As her consciousness returned back to her body, Peter woke up briefly and opened his eyes.

Rukia beat her great white wings and rose into the air, hovering above the human with a look of annoyance on her lovely features.

The mist of dreams still infecting his vision made her visible to him for the space of a moment, until he woke fully and lost his vision of the succubus.

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**KARAKURA**

As she entered the open window in the room, only the sleeping occupant's orange head of hair could be clearly seen in the moonlit room.

It had become sort of a ritual to her in the last several weeks. She would come visit this strange human male after she finished her rounds. There was something that drew her back to this mortal time and again. What it was she didn't know, or care to delve to deep for the reasons.

Rukia was a succubus. Both succubi (females) and the Incubi (males) were part of the legion of Oneroi, dream demons.

Succubi seduced men in their dreams with fantasies of women, wealth, power, and grandiose promises into selling their souls to the underworld of Morpheous, the Lord of Dreams. Incubi, on the other hand, seduced women with pleasure, love, and power that they were unable to get in the real world.

Demons such as she had no sexual desires of their own. They were strictly bystanders, entering their victim's dreams and bribing them with their own deepest darkest desires into surrendering their souls. The victims were then left alone until the moment they died, and then their souls belonged to the underworld to pay the consequences of their bargain.

The only way the Oneroi could feel emotions were when they were living vicariously through their victim's emotional dreams.

Maybe several centuries of playing in the passions of humans had worn off on her though. She sometimes thought she could almost feel physical emotions like a human.

Rukia walked up to the orange haired mortal and lightly tapped his forehead with one finger. Immediately she was drawn into the man's dreamscape. It was the same dream she had seen many times from him. She quickly imagined a bench and sat down, watching the same events unfold.

_A little orange haired boy and his mother were strolling along the river bank on a beautiful sunny day, occasionally picking flowers or throwing rocks into the water. _

_The laughter from both mother and child were so endearing and fetching that more than one passing stranger smiled indulgently at the pair._

_Suddenly, the sky darkened abnormally, and a great big monster arose out of the water heading towards the boy. The small boy was frozen motionless in complete terror until his mother ran towards him and knocked him back leaving her openly defenseless against the creature._

_By the time, the boy raised his bruised body from the ground, he saw in great horrific detail and gore how the vile monster completely consumed his mother. _

_In the aftermath, the monster simply sunk back down in the water and disappeared. While a small boy was left inconsolable in the pouring rain trying to reach what was once his mother._

There was something utterly compelling about these dreams, she never tired of watching. Perhaps it was the love between mother and child that brought out the curiosity in her. It always made her feel warm seeing the interaction with mother and son.

Rukia had always been the white changeling in the world of Oneroi, regarded with hatred and suspicion for being so different. Instead of the normal dark skin that most Oneroi were attributed, her skin and wings were utterly white. The only thing black on her were her midnight waist length black hair, with a strand left in between her eyes. Her eyes too were of a different breed as well. Where most had glowing red or yellow eyes, her eyes were the most vivid violet. To the Oneroi she was a strange type of albino demon, the ugly duckling.

Eyeing the wailing boy by the river, Rukia decided it was time to go and made to stand up. However, she was caught by surprise when a hand rested on her thigh and held her immobile.

She must have been so lost in her prior thoughts that she hadn't realized anyone had sat next to her.

"Stay please." The tall orange headed man beside her asked.

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**A/N: **Interested? Confused? Let me know.


	2. Chapter 02: My Dream Woman

**Title: Dream of Me**

**Chapter 2: Woman of My Dreams**

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**ICHIGO'S DREAMSCAPE**

Ichigo had noticed several weeks ago a slight disturbance in his dreams. Nothing overt, but the feeling that someone was watching him was ever present. It was distracting enough to pull him from the depths of horror and despair that affected him from these nightly nightmares.

At first he tried pinpointing the location of the watcher, but he was unsuccessful for many days. It wasn't until his intrinsic desire to hunt the watcher became an obsession that he was finally able to materialize his current form in the same dream. From then on, he searched every where in his nightly nightmare for anything unusual or abnormal. He even resorted to approaching all the various bystanders in the dream to see if the feeling persisted.

By chance one night, he happened to trip on something he had never noticed before. Sprawled on the dirt path, he looked around trying to discover the culprit of his downfall when he noticed the strange placement of a stone bench in the middle of a walk way. He froze when he was able to make out the dim outline of a figure sitting casually on it. At first, all he could see was a faint glimmer through the mists of snow. Eventually, the figure began to solidify and his heart nearly skipped a beat at what was revealed before his very eyes.

Sitting casually on the bench like any normal person, was a white creature with wings folded upon its shoulder like a cloak.

At first, he was filled with trepidation when he glimpsed her, thinking that yet another creature was out to consume him. But that soon passed after several seconds of observing her quietly unnoticed from the ground where he had fallen.

She was astonishingly beautiful in a fey way. Her skin was a translucent pale white, while her white wings glittered iridescently in the sunlight like the wings of an insect. Her waist length raven hair provided a stark contrast to the purity of her skin. The most shocking feature on her was her eyes however. Below the graceful winged arched eyebrows were glowing violet orbs with no signs of whites around it. They appeared to be both piercing and melancholic at the same time.

She was scantily attired in a thin white gown. The silk cloth was draped over one pale shoulder like a roman toga, and tied simply at the waist with a plain white chord. The hem of the cloth reached her ankles, revealing shapely legs as the slit ran up on both sides of her legs all the way up either side of her hips. Sandals covered her small feet with ties encircling around her calves.

He kept himself very still and trying not to attract any undue attention, while he stared at the creature that he had been hunting for so long. The entire time she observed past Ichigo and his Mother's last day together, her face remained impassively expressionless. Her eyes however told a different story. They were filled with a wistful curiosity as if she were seeking answers to a question she did not even know she had. After the last scene of that horrible day played out with Ichigo as a child, she stood up abruptly.

Ichigo held his breath. He was only several feet from her; if she looked down she would notice him right away. A small part of him wanted her to see him, but another part of him was adamantly against her seeing how indignantly uncool he looked sprawled all over the dirt pavement for a first meeting.

His body immediately tightened when he absently observed that due to his current position, he had an unobstructed angle view from underneath her attire.

He learned three important facts that night; well they were extremely important to him. One, whatever that creature was, she did not wear any other clothing underneath her robes and she was definitely of the female gender. Secondly, the creature did not have any body hair _any where_ other than on her head. And lastly, in terms of _'guy speak'_ she was extremely _doable_, as far as his cock was concerned.

To his great relief, saving him the mortification of being found like a dirty old pervert looking under women's skirts; the creature simple turned away. The front and back of her skirt gently swaying out and away from her body giving Ichigo another unimpeded view of her feminine attributes. And then she mysteriously just faded away from the dream world.

After her exit, Ichigo slept soundly for the first time in his life. For once, he began to dream of something else after his usual nightmares. His subconscious mind kept playing erotic scenarious with that exotic creature as the main star. Needless to say, Ichigo woke up the following morning to a _'good morning cock'_ that barely lasted one fisted stroke before climaxing against the shower wall.

It took him several nights of secretly studying her to determine her intentions. To his knowledge, she never tried to do anything unscrupulous in his dreams. He noticed that she came religiously each night and sat at the same spot watching the horrifying nightmare unfold before she would rise and fade back out of his dreams.

He didn't understand who or what she was, but he felt compelled to watch her, knowing instinctively that she wasn't a threat to him.

After several days of observing her covertly from afar, he finally decided to approach her one night. While she was distractedly focused on the images of 9 year old Ichigo again, he sat down next to her oblivious figure. At this range, he could smell the unusual scent of her. Strangely enough, it smelled of fresh snow and … innocence. He couldn't believe how irresistibly attractive that smell was. Ichigo did all he could to reign in the strong urge to bury his head in the juncture of her neck and deeply inhale her unique scent.

Ichigo stared at her unceasingly, even more fascinated by how soft and tender her skin looked up close. His fingers itched to trace across that skin to see if it truly looked as soft as it did.

The horrific nightmare with the boy and the monster was wrapping up finally, when she began to stand up. Panicking, and not wanting for her to leave before he could talk to her, he quickly laid his hand on her thigh stalling her movement.

"Stay Please."

Ichigo could tell he had truly surprised her by his presence. She snapped her head towards him in surprised shock. She blinked once at him, silently questioning him.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." He said with a small tilt to the corner of his lips and offered her a hand.

She didn't respond other than a brief confused glance toward his suspended hand and then back up towards his face.

Ichigo took the initiative and gently grasped one hand lightly, amazed at its delicate softness. He was so distracted by the acquisition of her small graceful hand, he decided not to release it right away. Instead he covered the top of her hand with his other one, sandwiching her hands in between his. She distinctly became uncomfortable with his touch and tugged her hand away discreetly, clenching her hand into a fist and hiding it behind her back like a child.

Awkwardly, Ichigo ran one hand behind the back of his head and scratched briefly there.

"Um … let's try that one more time. The name's Ichigo Kurosaki. Age 26. Karakura Police Detective . What's your name? Who are you? What are you? _And most importantly, what the fuck are you doing in my dreams?_"

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**A/N: **

There seems to be some confusion about the concept of the Oneroi. So I just wanted to clear up a few points with those of you who were confused.

Oneroi were the sons Hypnos, the Greek God of Sleep. There were three sons: Morpheus, Phoebus, and Phantos. Morpheus was the most powerful of the Oneroi in that he could shape dreams to his will.

Incubi and succubi were not part of the Greek mythology. They were more of a European Middle Ages myth. Sort of like Banshees or vampires. My theory is that they were old wives horror tales that the Church made a big fuss about, like the witch hunts because the monks were afraid of being seduced.

In any case, incubi seduced women, and the succubi seduced men. During intercourse they drew energy from their partners to survive. However, repeated intercourse often drained their victims to the point of death.

That being said, you didn't really need to know all that because I'm not basing this story on the full mythology. For the purpose of this story, Oneroi are dream demons and they are part of the Devil's army in getting more souls for the dark side. They are neither good nor bad, and are just doing their jobs.

Basically, the Oneroi in this world setting offer Faustian Bargains in their victim's dreams. Faustian Bargains are simply the bartering of one's soul for certain favors like wealth, power, lust, and youth.

Clear as mud? More details about the Oneroi will be revealed in the story.

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**PS.** Please drop me a review and let me know if you're still intrigued or it's going over your head by the way side. Also, if you catch any grammatical or spelling errors, let me know. If you like my writing style, take a gander at my other stories.


	3. Chapter 03: Bad Omen

**Title: Dream of Me**

**Chapter 3: Bad Omen**

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**ICHIGO'S DREAMSCAPE**

_"Stay please."_

Rukia was shocked that she had left herself so unaware in the dream world that she hadn't noticed until now the oddity of a figure approaching her much less touch her.

The hand on her thigh was quickly withdrawn when he saw her pause in her pursuit of leaving. When she turned to look at her uninvited bench mate, she was stunned to find the man was actually an older version of the boy she had been ritually watching these last several weeks. Glancing back to confirm if the boy was still there; she found him still huddling over the blood stains by the river.

Never had she encountered a dream where a mortal could materialize their full conscious self into their own dream. How he was able to even see her enough to approach her was another mystery. In all her centuries as an Oneroi, no one had ever detected her in the dream world. The dream world was her playground, everything was at her beck and call, and _nothing_ occurred that she didn't want to happen. In fact, she was unsurpassed at what she did. Rukia was always able to accurately pinpoint the exact wants, needs, and desires of her victims with amazing acumen.

A consciously aware mortal soul in the dream world did not bode well for her. She had a feeling that this was a sign; whether good or bad, it was an ill timed portent. If she could feel the emotion of worry, she had a feeling that now would be the time she would feel such expression.

Rukia wondered if these nightly visits would finally get back to Aizen-sama. He would not approve of where she had been spending most of her off-work hours. Already, she could feel the bite of cat o' nine tails lashing fire against her back. The only reason she had been able to escape Aizen-sama's attention this long had been because he knew that she had a lot longer lists of souls to gather. She had always been extremely good at her job; consequently, she usually finished early in the night and snuck about the human world without permission.

Rukia was different from other Oneroi in more than one aspect besides her appearance. Emotions much less strong emotions didn't exist within her, but she knew logically that if she could feel something it was this one feeling. She loathed fires. Any type of fire against her skin caused her untold pain. Unfortunately, where she resided, fire was the one feature in abundant detail. She didn't need to know what emotional pain was to understand physical pain, and her body's innate desire to avoid the fire punishments as much as possible.

Her potent distaste of fire made her seek out its antithesis. Ice and snow. She felt completely calm and at sea whenever she was near it. Ergo she would try to find places to settle herself briefly when the season was right. If she couldn't be near ice and snow in the real world, she would find a sleeping human and manipulate his dreams to showcase the cold beauty of the winter season. The world of winter had always fascinated her; its coldness, solitariness, and purity had always drawn Rukia like a moth to a flame.

The other facet that made her the stray changeling in the midst of the Oneroi, was her point of origin. She couldn't lay claim to any progenitors. Aizen-sama had told her long ago in passing that her strange white appearance had caused her to be abandoned as an infant and that even he didn't know her parentage.

Because Oneroi could not feel emotions, social interactions between each other were minimal at best, unless a succubus went into mating heat every century or so. The circumstances of her birth, her abhorrence of fire, and her ostracized treatment in the Oneroi society did not faze her; Rukia just took them as a matter of facts and accepted it. In some ways, she was thankful that she lacked emotions; otherwise she surmised she would not have been as indifferent to her plight as she put on. Despite her emotionless facade, there was always a niggling doubt in the back of her mind that something was not what it seemed; however, she would ignore it deftly go about her daily rituals as Aizen-sama commanded.

Rukia was pulled from her thoughts briefly when the nervous tightening of her bench mate's shoulders drew her full attention. Despite the multitude of times she had visited him, she had truly never looked at his sleeping figure in detail. The only detail she vaguely recalled about him was the way his orange locks gleamed duly in the moonlight.

The transition from boy to manhood must not have been an easy journey; there was no trace of the young carefree boy in his face. A scowl permanently marred his face. His amber eyes were so intensely deep they glowed with an inner light. His shoulders were broad and muscular narrowing down to a slender waist. If they were standing, she had a feeling he would tower over her.

Rukia, herself had never felt true desire; because her time of mating heat had not transpired yet, despite her coming of age. Nevertheless, she thought that this human might be deemed attractive in the eyes of the mortal world. She often promised physical attributes similar to his in her nightly bargains with her victims.

"Ichigo Kurosaki." He said with a distinctly awkward attempt at a smile, and raised a hand before her.

For a moment, she was distracted by how foreign the expression on his face looked that she hadn't truly followed what he had said. Rukia only blinked questionably in response, when she saw that he was waiting for a reply from her.

She was confused with the hand he appeared to offer her. What was she supposed to do with that hand? _Touch it?_ Oneroi did not touch unless a succubus was in mating heat, and they definitely did not touch mortals.

When he lightly grasped her hand, she had to inwardly stop herself from flinching. However, she couldn't help herself from becoming curious to this new tactile sensation. When he retained her hand and lightly sandwiched her hands between both of his, she began to feel a foreign feeling of heat begin to build. Nervously, she tugged her hand away and hid it behind her back, wanting to rub her hand vigorously against her robe to rid itself of that tingly feeling that persisted after his touch. _Was this some sort of human custom?_ Rukia didn't understand, but she wasn't exactly repulsed either, it was just an overall strange experience.

While she was still analyzing the sensory of human touch, the mortal huffed in nervous impatience and scratched the back of his head with one head.

"Um … let's try that one more time. The name's Ichigo Kurosaki. Age 26. Karakura Police Detective . What's your name? Who are you? What are you? _And most importantly, what the fuck are you doing in my dreams_?"

Human social customs were so bizarre, Rukia thought. Despite her knowledge of their dreams, she never could fully grasp their customs and rituals. A demon, no matter what type would never reveal their namesake. All demons had two names. One name was given to them by others, as a sort of nickname. The other name, however, was kept concealed. The only ones privy to such information was the named demon themselves and their parents. Although in this case, Rukia was different in that aspect as well, she didn't know her concealed name. To all demons, no matter what type, revealing ones names meant the possibility of someone summoning them with the archaic magic knowledge of the black arts. Once the ritual was performed a demon could become enslaved into the summoner's bidding.

"_Ichigo Kurosaki_," she said hesitantly, testing the foreign sound of his name. She wondered absently whether knowing the name of a mortal had as much power as knowledge of a demon's name.

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**A/N: **This was originally part of a much longer chapter. But it didn't really transition well w/ the other content so I split it up. Rukia's history is pivotal to the story. The next chapter will be the turning point of all.

**PS.** I've updated the previous chapters. As always, please read and review. Let me know if there are any grammatical/spelling errors or if some point needs further clarification; or if you've enjoyed the story thus far. Any feedback is appreciated on any of my stories.


	4. Chapter 04: Penny For Your Thoughts

**Title: Dream of Me**

**Chapter 4: A Penny For Your Thoughts**

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HUECO MUNDO

Amidst the sand dunes on a cloudless night, the crescent moon overhanging above cast an ominous light and shadow over the rocks and leafless trees. Towering above everything stood a palace of gargantuan proportions. Austerely white and forbidding in its multiple spires and turrets jutting towards the sky; its absolute silence mocked the local night denizens scuttling around the sand outside its gates.

Below the palace in a hidden room stood five occupants, faces and forms concealed in hooded long sleeved robes. Soft baritone unintelligible chanting echoed through the room. In the center of the room lay an intricate design carved with fire upon the floor. Within the encircled pentagram lay an undistinguished figure, writhing in pain. Periodically, the figure would try to lunge out of the pentagram in a bid for freedom, but to no avail the figure would bounce back in further pain as if hitting an invisible wall of electricity.

When the chanting began to change in tempo, a blue fire burst around the figure. Despite the placement of the room, the tortured screams echoed out into the night air carried along the winds over the sand dunes miles away.

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**ICHIGO'S DREAMSCAPE**

His first look into those liquid glowing violet eyes up close from a mere foot and a half away had sent a sharp bolt of heat straight to his cock. At this distance, he drank in a long look at the rest of her and experienced the sensation of his life flashing before his eyes. Heat surged up from his crotch like a swarm of angry bees. It enveloped him with stinging awareness.

Her every feature seemed painted with perfection; huge violet eyes, full inviting lips, a shining head of soft raven hair cascading down her back. She was barely five feet tall, but no one could mistake her for a child. The gentle slope of breast and hip drew the male eye like a magnet. His absolute awareness of her femininity overwhelmed him for a moment. He was pulled from his self contemplation when she spoke for the first time.

"_Ichigo Kurosaki_," she said hesitantly, as if savoring a strange flavor of food.

At hearing her voice for the first time, Ichigo was surprised by how sensually husky it sounded. The sound immediately trickled over his skin like stepping into a hot shower after day in the snow.

Rukia, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to her affect on Ichigo. She was more focused on the mystery of Ichigo's unexplained existence.

"How is it that you are here? I've never met a mortal able to manifest their true consciousness during the middle of their own dream." She asked after a reflective pause.

"I'm not sure. I felt your presence since you started visiting my dreams and wanted to find you, so here I am." Ichigo responded off handedly, but inwardly he was ecstatic that he was finally conversing with this exotic creature and she wasn't trying to kill him or anything—at least not yet. Why he was not afraid of her, he couldn't quite work out in his head.

"So, who and what are you exactly?" Ichigo asked, trying to keep her talking.

Rukia wasn't sure how to reply; however, there was no actual rule that forbid her from revealing her demonology. After careful consideration, she explained, "I am a Succubus, a dream demon, one of the Oneroi."

"I don't believe in dream demons." Ichigo replied automatically, scoffing at the concept of dream demons.

"You can see water demons, yet you don't believe in dream demons?" Rukia asked in puzzlement.

"I don't believe anything until I see it with my own eyes." A recalcitrant Ichigo sneered in stubborn disbelief.

"But don't you believe in the water demon that you dream of nightly?"

"That's different; I think my 9-year old mind just conjured up the monster in my head. What I probably saw was just some homicidal serial killer who unluckily chose my mother as his next random victim. And now I just associate monsters with my mother's murderer; at least, that's how the department therapist interpreted my nightmares."

"And yet, you are able to see me; but still deny the existence of the Oneroi?" If Rukia and been one to emote, exasperation would have heavily laced her words.

"Well, this is after all a dream; therefore, you are just a figment of my subconscious fantasy. So logically speaking, I still haven't really seen any Oneroi."

_A human's grasp of reality is so convoluted._ Rukia had always held the opinion that most of them were simplistic creatures in their ideals, desires, and needs. However, they tended to need some sort of justification for everything, even if the answer lay right in front of their eye—as was the case right now.

"Wait, don't Succubus theoretically seduce men, and suck out their soul while doing it?" Ichigo asked both intrigued and appalled at the idea. _Maybe that's why he'd been dreaming of her. As a matter of fact, he was going through a dry spell. He needed to get laid soon and end the drought. That would explain all these weird dreams in the last several weeks.._

"Succubi seduce men with the men's own fantasies, desires, and wishes. And while we can kill in doing so, we don't normally kill mortals before their time because that is against the rules. A human must die as they were ordained; however, we are not at fault if the human wishes to end their own life due to unforeseen consequences of their bargains. "

"In the matter of feeding, all Oneroi feed off the emotions of humans. We have found that bringing human emotional dreams to their utmost highs or lows of their lives creates energy for us to feed off."

"So, theoretically, have you been _feeding_ off of me, while you've been watching my nightmares for the last several weeks?" Ichigo curtly asked her? Despite the perverted thought in the back of his head that taunted him that he wouldn't mind if she did try to eat a specific part of him. _Banana split a la carte._

"No, I have not needed to feed from you, since I am usually full by the time I come to your dreams." Rukia replied in the negative.

"Why do you keep coming to my dreams then?"

"Oneroi do not feel emotions, we can only sometimes feel a mortal's emotions."

"But that doesn't explain why you visit mine?"

"I don't quite understand it myself either. Since finding you, I have felt that there is some unfinished business I must do, but the key is hidden here somewhere in your dreams. I just have not figured out what it is yet. But you finding me here may be part of it, I surmise."

"Um, Succubus, can I ask you something?" Ichigo scratched the back of his head again nervously, and looked briefly down trying to disguise his slightly blushing cheeks.

"Not Succubus, Rukia. I am called, Rukia."

"Well, Rukia, can I touch your wings?" asked Ichigo uncharacteristically timid. The entire time they were conversing, he had to fight the irresistible urge to touch her. It was like he was compelled to touch her. He had been staring openly at her the entire time, not even disguising his fascination with her appearance. He figured asking to touch her wings was the least perverted placed he could ask.

Rukia's heart sped at the strange request; nevertheless, she slowly nodded her head in consent.

When Ichigo reached out a hand to touch the edge of one wing, he could feel it quiver slightly before it tightened and then stilled. Her wings were like the gossamer silk of a butterfly, he couldn't help think of how it would feel wrapped around him. He never thought his dreams would get this kinky.

Eyeing the mortal in minute detail, Rukia studied Ichigo's overpowering aura. The longer she stayed in his presence, the more her senses dulled, leaving her half blinded to her most important senses. In fact, she was beginning to feel slightly dizzy as if she was trapped in a vertigo of some sort. However, as she ran her gaze lower to a prominent bulge, there was one discernable detail that she didn't need her extra demon senses to interpret.

Surfing through his memories was like swimming in a sludge of quicksand especially with her waning powers, but she was able to pull one face out before the effort became too taxing. Concentrating hard through Ichigo's odd aura, she was able to visualize her findings.

Immediately, a curvaceous nude woman materialized. As soon as the long orange haired woman caught sight of the orange haired male nearby, she tackled a surprised Ichigo to the ground.

_"Orihime!"_ A stupefied Ichigo squeaked out from underneath the over-enthusiastic woman.

Several seconds later, the only sounds that could be heard were vehement muffled protests.

Rukia, used to the odd noises humans made during their lustful moments, automatically tuned out the sounds and turned away intent on leaving. She paused when she heard the heavy sounds of footsteps stomping towards her. She was surprised when she caught sight of Ichigo running desperately towards her with the nude woman quickly closing in behind him.

"Hmm…. I didn't realize you'd be so quick. Well, that's the fastest time I've seen for a human." Commented Rukia, as she tapped one index finger against her lips in serious contemplation.

"_What?!"_ Ichigo screamed in disbelief. When it finally dawned on him to what she was referring too, he turned crimson in abject horror.

"_No, I didn't' do that!"_ Ichigo vigorously denied, his arms criscrossing wildly in the negative.

By this time, Orihime had stealthily drawn close behind him. While Ichigo's attention was focused on heatedly denying his um…_quick fire tendencies_, Orihime leaped on his back. Plastered to his back, she straddled his narrow hips and began dry humping his ass.

"Kurosaki-kun, take me please! I love you! I'd do anything for you! Kurosaki-kun…." Orihime wailed unceasingly in his ear, while reaching around him to try to tug off his shirt with one hand, and reach down his pants with the other.

Ichigo staggered at the unexpected weight, cringing more and more in revulsion at Orihime's sugary high voice.

"_Rukia!_ Get rid of her." He demanded from the succubus. "I think I'm going to have nightmares…" he muttered under his breath while trying to untangle Orihime's limbs from him. Fed up with her, he just squatted down, reached with one hand behind her neck and flipped her over his shoulder to the ground.

When she landed flat on her back briefly winded, he thought he had knocked some sense into her. But apparently she was just getting her second wind before she screamed "Kawaii! You like the missionary way?" Then she leaned back, cradled her breasts in both hands, arched her hips up, and then spread her bent legs open, leaving nothing to the imagination.

Trying not to gag at the sight, he pointed to the naked woman on the ground, and roared at Rukia to get rid of Orihime.

Ignoring the prostrate body in between them, Rukia was trying to analyze what went wrong. Never before had she ever given an incorrect assessment of a human's ultimate desire.

The constant ear splitting octaves of both Ichigo and Orihime were getting to her however, so she relented and dispersed the image of the naked girl.

"She is truly not what you desire in a woman?" Rukia asked puzzled.

"Never in a million years!" Ichigo fervently denied, shaking his head so hard that it was in danger of flying off of his neck.

"Then what is it you truly desire?" She asked while, pulling an odd papyrus scroll from somewhere within her robe. When he only blushed in response, Rukia looked around the dream world, she paused when she eyed the water. After several seconds, a light bulb appeared in her head. She knew what it was that his soul craved now. "Is it revenge you wish for? In exchange for your soul, I could grant you information on that demon that killed your mother."

Ichigo gaped at her in speechless shock. _To finally avenge his mother's death?_ He was about to grip her shoulders and shake the answers out of her; but paused when he noticed her face blanch in surprised pain. She would have fallen to her knees if he hadn't caught her. She was gasping for breath, while gripping the center of her chest with one hand.

"_He's calling for me…"_ she whispered with eyes glazed in pain.

* * *

**A/N:** I seem to be a off a chapter when giving next chapter predictions. They are correct…that is until I start adding more text. And the next thing I know, the chapter gets too long and I need to split it again. It's easier for me to edit 2k words or less chapters. As most writers can attest, editing is a bitch. Especially, if you have to deal with FF's WSYWIG editor. Files get uploaded improperly, text don't get saved correctly, and sometimes it rearranges content around the page w/o rhyme or reason. Give me code to work with any day. I've tried editing only in the HTML option, but it strips all my code out. Sorry, I'm ranting. In the words of Lambo of Reborn. Must. Stay. Calm.

Originally, this story was really going to be maybe a 4 chapter story of which I already have the last chapter drafted; and I was really regretting actually publishing the first chapter because I didn't think readers would respond too well with something this AU. Feedback has been surprisingly phenomenal thus far, and it does greatly effect how I write. As a result, the original outline for the story has lengthened. The length of the overall story is still subject to change, but I'm still classifying this as a short story.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, or added this story to their favorites and alerts. I apologize for not being able to respond to everyone.

Not one of my favorite chapters, but it needed to be written. If you have a better suggestion for a chapter title, I'm willing to change it. Next chapter will be the last of the Ichigo Dreamscapes for a while, and yes it will be the real turning point.

As always, any feedback is appreciated.


	5. Chapter 05: Savior Complex

**Title: Dream of Me**

**Chapter 5: The Best-Laid Plans of Mice and Men Often Go Awry.**

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**HUECO MUNDO**

In the chilly night, where the moon and stars lay hidden behind the clouds, sat the silhouettes of two male figures. The only thing visible was the lighted end of a cigarette in one of the men's hands. Both sat comfortably in silence with an occasional drag from the cigarette before passing it to the other companion.

_"Another one's gone missing." _

_"I know. A novice..."_

_"They're gearing up again. __It's time to go back to the old ways."_

_"I'm too old for the cloak and dagger stuff. Let the idiot handle it."_

_"The idiot hasn't been trained."_

_"He's young, it's in the blood, and all he really needs is gut instincts."_

_"The plans are already in motion..."_

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**KARAKURA**

Scraps of raw flesh still sizzled with smoke. Bits and pieces of bloody innards, bone, hair, and a couple of teeth scattered around the encircled pentagram were the only telltale sign that the debris was once humanoid in shape.The participants all observed remorselessly, concerned with only one thought.

_This was not good news. Their superior would not be happy at the latest results._

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**ABADDON** (Hell)

The demon leaned back on the high back throne like chair attentive to the latest news brought to him by a subordinate.

_The time table must be moved up. __All these centuries and only one…. _

While he planned and schemed inwardly, he continued to absently stroke the small opaque crystal snowflake shaped amulet hanging on his chest, occasionally dragging a sharp nail down its center with malevolent intent.

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**ICHIGO'S DREAMSCAPE**

Ichigo was suffering all pangs of panic, he tried removing the hand that Rukia was clenching against her own chest so that he could slide her robe down to see what was causing her pain. But she was using one wing to shield her chest from him. His inner perverted alter ego was disappointed in not seeing her body in more depth. Although, feeling her shapely curves against his frame, it was hard thinking that she was anything other than a very desirable female and not a soul stealing succubus. He was also happy to note that most of her body felt humanoid in shape and subject to sensations that humans felt, because he could feel the hard pebble of the one breast that was pressed up against his chest.

Eventually her hands and muscles began to unclench. When her breathing evened out to a normal pace, awareness slowly came into her eyes. Rukia abruptly shoved herself away from Ichigo after noticing she was enclosed in the suffocating embrace of a human. He was oddly reluctant to let her go, and briefly resisted for a second or two before complying with her silent demands and loosened his arms from around her.

As soon as she was clear of him, and without a word her image began to fade. Instinctively, he quickly concentrated hard on retaining her presence. It must have worked because her image began to solidify again.

Rukia looked at him in complete shock. "How did you…. No one has ever…. You should not have the power to keep me here." For an emotionless demon, she was practically sputtering in surprise and annoyance.

"Well, deal with it. This is my dream, I want you to stay, and you damn will stay. I don't care if this is all a fantasy, but it's my fantasy. If you're in trouble, I'm here to rescue you."

"You assume too much, human."

"Now tell me what that was all about, Rukia. Who was calling you, and why did it cause you untold pain?"

"I don't know what you're asking for, I simply must return home. It's past time when I should be returning."

"No, tell me the truth. Obviously something is up. You're practically shaking in your boots in abject terror."

"I am not wearing boots, nor do the Oneroi feel terror."

"You must be the exception then."

Obviously, he must have hit a nerve because despite her emotionless façade, he would have caught a blue fireball to his face point blank if he hadn't dodged in time. The tree behind him caught the brunt of the attack and burst into flames. As it was, his face tingled like he had a sun burn after hours in the sun.

"Release me, boy, before I incur a higher level of punishment." Rukia commanded, inadvertently revealing more then she intended.

"I don't care if you want to go get punished. You're a damsel or an um…succubus in distress, so I'm going to help you. From now on, I'm rejecting all your protests! Got that?!"

"What? You're just going to ignore the wishes of the person you're saving?! What kind of tyrannical rescue is that?!"

"Button it! I don't want crap from the one who needs rescuing!! Just go find a nice corner where you can tremble and say stuff like 'S_ave me!'_"

Rukia's eyes narrowed in thought. _This human could almost drive an emotionless demon to the brink of suicide. All Oneroi would benefit in his death, he was clearly dangerous with a savior complex. _

Knowing what she needed to do, she materialized her weapon of choice with the last of her draining strength. As soon as the pure white katana with a long tasseled ribbon at its hilt appeared, she quickly struck, aiming at his arm. Wounded, he may loosen his hold on the dreamscape enough to allow her to escape, and she wouldn't be liable for his death. But she was soon to be disappointed by his reaction.

Out of no where, an oversized behemoth of a black meat cleaver with a long white ribbon at its hilt materialized, blocking her strike expertly.

"Are you out of your freaking mind?" Ichigo roared at her, somewhat astonished by the weapon he was holding. He had no clue why the first image of this sword popped into his head had been this one. Perhaps it was because it was almost the polar opposite of Rukia's, which was the epitome of grace, elegance, and beauty.

Rukia responded by moving one step closer and sliding the edge of her sword down his blade to strike his waist instead.

"I would kill an insolent fool like you, but the provisional law forbids unauthorized executions of humans."

Ichigo simply stepped to the side with one foot and angled his hilt so that the brunt of her attack landed in the middle of his sword instead of his waist. He slid his own sword down hers quickly trying to chop lightly at her wrist. _Maybe if he disarmed with a small wound he would be able to force a confession out of her as to what she was obviously hiding. _

Rukia quickly blocked the cutting motion and jabbed at his open inner thigh. He shifted his thigh back and blocked. Then tried to cut at her wrist again. However, Rukia slid back into a gyaku gedan stance, tip lowered on the centerline between them, left leg forward, and arms lightly crossed over the hilt in front of her waist. Ichigo lowered the tip of his sword slightly as well into seigan-no-kamae, with the tip between then, and right leg forward in the standard gedan stance.

"Like I could loose to someone who looks like they could barely pass for 16, regardless of what breed of creature you are." Ichigo mocked sarcastically. He was glad all his lessons in Kendo were paying off.

As she shifted into in-no-kamae, simply raising her katana vertically with the tip towards the sky, her right wrist held at eye level and her elbows lowered, she replied, "Despite my appearance I have lived ten of your lives." Then she struck towards his open left temple in a yokomen-uchi attack.

If Ichigo hadn't judged the timing correctly he would not have survived the latest attack. Rukia appeared small and delicate, but boy did she fight with vicious fervor. He hated to say it, but even during this life and death situation, her spitfire tendencies were a huge turn on. He was already semi-hard from embracing her earlier, but it was quickly evolving into a full fledged cockstand the more he fought. _Maybe it was all the fighting aggression that made the juices flow in other directions as well, especially when had an exotically erotic uketachi opponent like this._

Ichigo was about to parry with the back of his sword edge against her own temple when she gasped, collapsed to her knees, and clutched her chest once again. He ran towards her and kicked her katana out of her hands so that it was completely out of harms way, then kneeled in front of her.

Rukia didn't respond to his approach, her mind was completely focused on whatever pain she was imprisoned in. This time he roughly brushed her hands down and away. Seeing nothing that would visibly cause pain over her clothed chest. He yanked the one shouldered robe down her arm, completely exposing her chest. Even though he tried to ignore it, his softening cock stood straight up attentively again at this inopportune time. _Opportunistic bastard. _He thought, scowling inwardly at his mini-me who had a mind and will of its own.

At first he couldn't see what was wrong on her unmarred chest, but the longer he concentrated and searched he could make out something. Glowing symbols floated continuously in the shape of a pentagram embedded at the center of her chest from beneath her skin.

Without consciously thinking, he reached in with one hand through her chest and shifted the symbols around. As if snapping out of a daze, he looked down and squeaked in surprise at finding his hand completely engulfed within Rukia's chest. As he slowly pulled the embedded hand back out, he felt a severe burning pain under his forearm. When he absently looked down briefly, he found copious amounts of blood dripping down his forearm and some sort of burned symbol underneath the red smears. His curiosity at the strange markings soon flew out of his mind while he tugged free his hand completely from Rukia's chest.

Ichigo sighed in relief when he saw the hole in Rukia's chest close undamaged. However, his heart pounded in anxious anxiety when her body began to convulse unceasingly as if she was locked in an epileptic seizure. She screamed in tortured anguish while her image dematerialized particle by particle, as her image was torn asunder.

* * *

**KARAKURA: ICHIGO'S BEDROOM**

Screams still echoing in his head, Ichigo jerked awake in a cold sweat. His eyes quickly snapped open in time to hear the loud sound of a thud nearby his bed. Quickly scrambling from out of his bedcovers clothed in only his boxers, he turned on the light and ran searching eyes around the bedroom floor. At first, he saw nothing out of the ordinary, until he caught the edge of blurred sparkle from the corner of his vision. Focusing on that odd blur next his bed, the outline of a small shadow began to coalesce. His eyes wanted to bypass the shadow, but the more he concentrated the hazy image solidified into the lines of a crumpled winged figure curled in a fetal position on the floor.

"_Rukia?!"_

Rukia's eyes opened with visible difficulty. Ichigo could see the glowing violet orbs were getting dimmer and dimmer with each breath she took.

"_What have you done?"_ She whispered hoarsely in pain, the glow in her eyes completely winking out before she gave herself to the darkness of oblivion.

* * *

**KARAKURA**

Outside, below Ichigo's open window, stood a watcher in the shadows of a large tree. Glowing eyes stared up into the windows briefly before he pulled the tip of his hat lower to conceal his presence. He puffed on his smoking pipe once in contemplation and smirked secretively. His coat tails ruffled in the breeze as he turned and walked away.

_"So it begins..."_

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**A/N:**

Sorry if the sword fight was confusing, with my background in Aikido, Katori, and Iiado, I feel honor bound and determined to at least incorporate some of my experience in the fight scenes. Even Ichigo's throw of Orihime in the last chapter was an Aikido/Jujistu move. As promised we're finally out of Ichigo's Dreamscape. Now the real story starts...

Please review and let me know what you think, it'll clue me into the pacing of the story. I can shorten the overall story if there's not enough interest or lengthen it if the audience is there. If you've read my TO DO list on my profile, I've got a lot of other stories in the works. So either way doesn't bother me. I can wrap it up quickly w/o too much fanfare; or have it progress into a more detailed full fledged story. I try to publish 1-2 chapters a week consistently (it's a fluke I was able to do 3 this week), so regardless it'll be finished w/in the next month or two.

Short story wise, I think I can wrap it up in 4 more chapters. Full story length would probably be 15-20 chapters. Just to give you an example, if I had followed my original short story plans for this story, these first 5 chapters would have been condensed into one chapter in about 2k words. So if you like lots of emotional twists and turns, the short story probably woundn't convey that.

First and foremost, I write for others to read and enjoy, so if you prefer something I'll take it into consideration. Please take a moment to review.

The next chapter will depend on the feedback from this one, as it will set the pace for all future chapters.

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	6. Chapter 06: The Demon Within

**Title: ****_Dream of Me_**

**Chapter 6: The Demon Within**

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ABADDON

The only signs of anger on the demon's face were just a slight narrowing of his eyes. Cradled within his hands was a snowflake pendant that had gone absolutely clear after a mild electrical shock had been delivered to his chest.

_This will not go unpunished. When he found out who the culprit was, they would roast in the fires of brimstone for all eternity while he squeezed their soul in the palm his hands draining it of every hope and life it had. Hell hath no fury when someone steals something that belonged to him._

_Priorities would have to be shifted a bit._

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KARAKURA

In a hidden room, a man and a woman were partaking tea peacefully.

"_The stars must be in alignment, because everything is going according to plan. Oh, Irish eyes are indeed smiling upon me . . . ."_

"_You aren't Irish, you dimwit."_

"_Details, details, details . . . ." _

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KARAKURA: Ichigo's Bedroom

Ichigo's heart skipped a beat when the glow in Rukia's eyes winked out like a candle light extinguished on a dark breezy night. He dropped to his knees and felt for a pulse in her neck. He didn't know what he was expecting because her species may not have ever had a pulse to begin with. But after several nerve-wracking minutes of touching her cool flesh, he thought he could feel a faint trace of a heartbeat. He almost collapsed in relief when he realized he had held his breath the entire time.

Confused, he didn't know what to think or what to do. For the first time he had a live demon not only in front of his very eyes, but within touching distance. This time he was given the choice to deny the physical existence of demons.

Ichigo was about to run one hand through the back of his hair in frustration, when his up raised hand brought him up short. _What the fuck? _There was something under his forearm. Examining it closely, he saw an encircled pentagram drawn on it. Trying to rub it off was a fruitless endeavor; it also appeared like it had been burnt in with ash because the skin was slightly raised as if he had been branded by a hot iron rod similar to those used on livestock underneath the black markings.

If he focused hard, the lines on the pentagram and circle weren't lines at all. He thought he could barely make out arcane symbols inscribed closely together. However, reading it was an exercise in futility, the symbols and its meaning stayed of tantalizing reach of interpretation. He gave up understanding the marking's conception and meaning in favor of something with higher precedence. _What to do with the demon in his room?_ When he imagined her in his room, it certainly wasn't to this scenario where she was convulsing in pain rather than pleasure.

Knowing he couldn't leave her on the floor much longer, he tried to reach under her to lift her. But her wings blocked any good leverage in picking her up, so he attempted to grasp one wing to shift it. To his surprise, unlike the dream, they felt strangely brittle. In fact, as he pushed on one wing he heard a crack. Reflexively he jerked his hand back but the damage had already been done. "_Shit!_ I think I just broke her wing!" He exclaimed in alarmed helplessness.

Hairline fissures commenced to run up the bones in both her wings, as she convulsed in insensate pain. Rukia was involuntarily clawing at the floor in an attempt to escape the intense pain she was visibly enduring with every fiber of her being. Dry heaves and coughing forcefully ripped from her mouth. He panicked wondering if she was going to asphyxiate herself.

He leapt to the nearby phone on his nightstand, and dialed the first number that came to mind. Breathing rapidly, he eyed Rukia's torment as he counted the number of rings before the phone was picked up on the other end.

Before even a simple, "Hello" could be imparted on the other end. Ichigo rushed out, "Dad, what do you do when someone's undergoing unconscious convulsions and in danger of choking on their own tongue or vomit?"

On the other end, hearing the seriousness of Ichigo's voice, Isshin paused in thought. Inwardly, he was ecstatic but felt a little concerned at the untested results. _This could make or break everything. _Not revealing any of his apprehension, he said out loud in his usual boisterous tone, "If it's serious, why don't you take the person to the hospital emergency room? Or better yet, I can come over there to help you."

_Take Rukia to a public hospital? Hell no!_ She would be sent to some experimental testing facility for aliens or something before she could even walk through the door. Remembering the effort it took to even see her, and to continue focus on her when his eyes wanted to instinctively look past her. He wasn't sure if anyone else would even be able to see her in the first place.

_But have his father come over? Hell, no!!_ Ichigo cringed at the thought. Isshin Kurosaki would be jumping in joy at any woman in his bed and might not take the time to even examine her before she died.

He remembered in great detail when he had taken Tatsuki to his father after a karate tournament had left her with a broken wrist when they were kids. Tatsuki swore she would rather live her life with a broken wrist, incapable of competing in any more tournaments then go back. Apparently, he had prolonged her treatment extensively, so that he could interrogate Ichigo's compatibility to her. Although, she was numbed out and unable to feel the pain, she couldn't escape those long hours where he related every embarrassing moment in Ichigo's life and tried to set her up on a date with him. _They were only 11 years old for god's sake!_ To this day, Tatsuki occasionally used what she learned that day as blackmail material.

"Um, that's not a possibility, Dad."

"Besides, I don't think the hospital would accept this type of species." Ichigo muttered under his breath, but loud enough that his father heard it.

"Pick up a stray have you? You know your building has a pet code." Isshin commented with a smirk.

_One of the strangest strays ever! And there's no code for demons . . . ._

"It's all theoretical anyway, I'm just asking _what if_ . . . ." Ichigo unsuccessfully denied, trying to keep his crazy father from knowing the truth and coming over. He wasn't sure how his father would react. However, the last thing he needed was his rowdy outspoken father coming over at 4 AM in the morning, and waking up the neighbors in his enthusiasm about a new daughter-in-law regardless of species; then exalting on the virtues of children having wings loudly through out the building.

"No, Dad! It's not like that, like I said, it's just theoretical."

"Or are you hiding a woman there? Someone you're trying to hide the identity from the . . . Yakuza, or . . . maybe a celebrity stalker! Doing the Whitney Houston, _Bodyguard,_ thing are you? Is she rich? Of child bearing age? If not, I've heard of all sort of new drugs and . . . ."

"Dad!" Ichigo interrupted his dad, before he started running off his mouth onto a different movie spiel like the Jet Li version of the _Bodyguard_ or the _Transporter_ movies. "It's all theoretical!"

"Right, . . . so theoretically, I would wrap a cloth around a bunch of chopsticks and place it in between the jaw. Tie the limbs down to something secure. Then go to your bathroom, in the back of the cabinet under the sink is a package with a flaming skull on it. Within that package is a type of insulin, take the syringe and inject your stray in a main artery. So that's what I would do . . . theoretically."

"Wait, what is a package with a flaming skull on it doing in my pad? And when did you leave it there?" Ichigo asked in skeptical suspicion.

"Well, son you were always prone to spasmodic bouts of sleep apnea, so I always leave it near you so that I could use it if I had to sleep at your place."

"What the fuck? Like I would ever invite you to sleep here on purpose. I would never get a good morning's rest with you trying to attack me!" Ichigo heatedly exclaimed as he found the said package from the bathroom, and grabbed the other necessary supplies. "I gotta go now, Dad. Thanks!" Ichigo was about to hang up when, his father screamed.

"Wait, don't forget! Lots of sponge bathes to keep the temperature down._ Remember lots of sponge bathes_ . . . ." The dial tone could be heard on Isshin's end before he could elaborate. The foolish grin that he had pasted on his face was immediately dropped into a serious look of concern. He had an important call to make. _It looked like the time had come._

Ichigo couldn't understand it; his father must have a psychic pervert radar when it came to him. He had never once mentioned his stray was female in nature.

Following his father's direction to the letter, he immediately bound a wash cloth around a small bundle of chopsticks and gently pried open Rukia's jaw to place it in between her teeth. Immediately her jaw clenched so hard on the sticks he could hear the sticks creaking against each other. But her breathing became slightly smoother and less shallow, so it must have worked to some degree.

He was about to lift her up to his bed when she flipped onto her back and screamed noiselessly through the bit in her mouth. Her back arched in spasmodic pain. While her skin turned clammy and started to sweat profusely. Touching her skin, Ichigo could feel her skin alternating between hot and cold flashes.

Not long afterward, when he was still figuring out the logistics of forcing her onto the bed without hurting her further; he suddenly felt his forearm where the marking was, begin to throb in pain and heat. Then he heard a series of heart chilling loud cracks of breaking bone coming from Rukia. From the tips of her wings to wear they bisected on her back, the small hair line fissures ran along the bones of her wings and across the soft webbing in between them splitting the crevices wider and wider. Abruptly, the cracks stopped and the closest thing he could come to describing what happened next was that her wings shattered like the tinkles of a falling piece of glass. Both wings were torn asunder, scattering sparkling dust motes in the air throughout the room, only to dissolve completely leaving no remaining trace that wings ever existed.

**

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OSAKA

A small 11 year old raven haired girl walked home from school by herself. There was something strange today in the shadows by the bush she had walked by every day since she had started going to school. She slowed as she approached closer and closer to the bush, hesitant for some inexplicable reason.

She jumped briefly in rattled surprise, when she heard her name being called by a school mate from a car paused by the sidewalk near her that she hadn't noticed earlier.

"Hey, you want to check out the latest Chappy plushy release with my mom and me at the mall?"

"Sure." The girl replied, inward relieved that she didn't have to walk by that bush. But as the car pulled away with both girls happily chatting in the back seat, she turned to look at that dark shadow again. And she could have sworn she saw it move in a way no shadow could without anyone there.

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KYOTO

A young brash red headed 9 year old boy was up to bat in his favorite game of baseball, when something caught his attention. Distractedly, he hit the ball coming at him hard towards that shadow by the tree in the out field.

Everyone assumed the ball must have hit the tree trunk because it immediately ricocheted back towards the baseball diamond. However, the boy hadn't blinked the entire time the ball had hit its destination. So he knew that the ball had been no where near the tree trunk. All thoughts of the strange shadow disappeared from his mind as he his team mates yelled at him to run. As he slid safely into first base; however, somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought he would take up the guys offer for pizza after the game because the hair on the back of his neck refuse to lay back down.

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A/N:

Kind of boring, but choke full of important details that will be important later on. I'm debating about changing the category from Supernatural/Romance to Supernatural/Horror. Is it creepy and gory enough thus far? It's likely to get much worse. It's still a romance, but it's taking a while to set up.

Please review and let me know what you thought. Special thanks to everyone who has taken the time to review thus far, I really appreciate it.


	7. Chapter 07: Chosen Prey

**Title: ****Dream of Me**

**Chapter 7: Chosen Prey**

**Warnings: **I just want to reiterate that this is an M rated story for more than just the smut, some parts may be disturbing.

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OSAKA

Inside the small parlor that doubled as a living room, a flamboyant gaudily dressed woman flipped cards in precise formation on a table. As soon as all the set cards were turned, the dealer tilted her head back dramatically while her gaze remained unfocused into a trance.

"Death will be knocking on the door soon, beware of shadows." She said in a frightening otherworldly voice.

"What type of freaking fortune is that? I can't believe I paid for this type of crap! I just want to know if my husband is cheating on me! And if he is, I want the combination to the safe box and Swiss bank account." The lynx fur clad woman screeched out loud. Standing abruptly in indignation, she high tailed out of the front door in the wake of a cloud of expensive perfume, slamming the door on the way out.

Back inside, the fortune teller was staring worriedly at the cards. She had always been a 2-bit con-artist, turning tricks and milking bored rich wives out of their weekly allowance. But her granny used to say that foretelling really did run in the family at the most unexpected times. She hadn't even been consciously speaking when she had read the cards for her supposed last trick. She was still absently studying the cards, when a draft shot through the room like the door had been thrown open. She shivered at the breeze. _But the door should have been closed when the last client had exited._

Before she could even chance to look up, her life flashed before her eyes. She only had one regret uppermost in her thoughts as the pain ripped through her, "_God, honey! I'm so sorry I couldn't say goodbye_."

The only sounds left in the small shop as the foot steps receded to the upstairs bedrooms was the soft pitter patter of drops raining down from the ceiling painting everything in crimson.

The tarot cards scattered haphazardly around the room in its final formation. The only card that sat in pristine condition amid the horror of the room was "Death" placed above a rapidly cooling heart on the table.

Upstairs, a young girl cowered underneath her bed. Most times she was afraid of the boogie man under her bed, but tonight she instinctively knew there was someone or thing worse out to get her. Tears streaked down her face because she knew something had happened to her mother downstairs even though no sound traveled to her room. She muffled her sobs against her new Chappy plush doll, knowing that she had to stay absolutely quiet to remain undetected.

When she caught sight of a huge spider by her face, she tried to shift quietly further under the bed. However, she couldn't move. She was stuck somehow. She was absolutely speechless in terror and clawing the floor in a bid to escape, as she was abruptly dragged by her feet from underneath the bed out in the open. Warm liquid leaked through her night gown. _Mommy would be so disappointed that I had an accident_ was the last thought she had before blackness swallowed her.

Her new Chappy plush toy lay discarded on the floor, happily smiling at the world.

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KYOTO

It was late at night, as a young boy walked home alone in the middle of the night. His curfew had passed hours ago, but he rarely ever came home on time. Spending anytime at home meant watching front row how shitty his life was. Daily his drunkard of a stepfather beat his junked up mother in heated arguments, only to have them violently make out in the living room in animalistic make up sex. He hated his life, and couldn't wait to be of age to get away from his so called immediate family.

He always carried his lucky bat with him. The one time he failed to do so, his step father beat him so bad he had to be taken to the hospital for a supposed fall down the stairs. So he learned the hard way on how to protect himself by carrying his bat everywhere with him. Unfortunately, his stepfather was the recipient of such a hard lesson, when he went after him for coming home late one night. After defending himself successfully by breaking his step father's forearm once, he was never bothered again.

Something was different tonight however. Most times his mother and stepfather lay either dozing or stoned out in front of the running television. However, tonight the television was still on but the room was in complete darkness and he couldn't see where the regular occupants were by the glow of the television.

As he removed his shoes by the door, his sock clad feet stepped into a warm wet puddle on the floor. Uneasy, he looked down in the dark trying to decipher what it was, but it looked like black ink. Reaching down to touch the liquid, he smeared it between his thumb and index finger. It didn't look like water; it was too thick and viscous for that. In fact, as he raised his hand to look at it closer in the television lighting . . . _it looked like . . . blood. _

Heart pounding in dread, he jerkily turned around. Ignoring his shoes, he ran back out into the cold night leaving squishy red wet foot prints in his wake.

This time, even his lucky bat couldn't save him as he ran straight into the open arms of his worst nightmare.

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ABADDON

A knock sounding on the door pulled the demon called, Ichimaru, briefly out of his thoughts.

"Come in." He called out, not expecting who walked through the door at all.

"Oh my! Well, if it isn't the Oneroi Enforcer, come to visit little ole' me. What can a lowly demon like myself do for Mr. Enforcer." Ichimaru mocked in half amusement.

"Where is that pitiful white changeling pet?"

"How would I know? Picking up strays is so not my style."

No more words were spoken as the Enforcer's eyes stared hard in distrust at him before he abruptly turned in cold distain and exited.

It must have been a trick of the light, but for a moment Ichimaru thought he could detect a slight glint of emotion in those stoic eyes of the Enforcer. _But that's impossible, because Oneroi could not feel emotions, could they?_ Besides, no one would ever dare to confusedly combine emotion with Byakuya; the Enforcer was the epitome of a mentally emotionless wasteland.

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A/N:

Sorry, I had the smut in this chapter, but it's placement in this section just didn't make it a good fit with the horror. So it'll be in the next. The good news about that is that 1k words are already written. I want to add maybe another 500-1k words to it. So you not only get 3 chapters this week, but one whole chapter of semi-smut.

Impressions? Confusion? Enough horrific drama? Horror is so not my style, so let me know how it turned out. That's probably as gory as it is going to get. Please review.

As always, thanks to all of you who have taken the time to review thus far. For starting my first fic 8/6/08, I've already logged a word count of 20k+. Reviews make the time spent writing invaluable. It takes me about 4-8 hours to write a chapter on top of a full time job and raising a family.

**Next Chapter: **Yes, the first …well quasi-smut IchiRuki. You can only do so much when one partner is . . . unconscious…. Dame desu ka? Bad Ichigo!


	8. Chapter 08: Bound in Heat

**Title: ****Dream of Me**

**Chapter 8: Bound in Heat**

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**ABADDON**

As Byakuya exited Ichimaru's lair, he strode quickly with purpose to his own chambers. Entering his room, he quickly closed and secured the door. Walking towards a wall deeper into the room, he called out a chant. Immediately, a small door was unveiled.

He pulled out a small scrap of paper within his robes and glanced down at its contents before folding it up again. Opening the hidden door, a jade amulet with a circle and a line made of sakura branches bisecting it hung from the top of the cabinet. Placing the paper beside a very ancient woman's silken kimono, he reclosed the door and chanted a spell to disguise what was once only known to the Enforcer.

Only two people knew about the roughly drawn symbol on the paper, and he was the only one alive to tell the tale. However, it looked like the original culprit may still be alive. Someone would pay dearly. And unlike others he would take pleasure in flaying the skin off them, and torturing them over the fires of hell for centuries if not more. _He was the Enforcer, and the law must be followed; but most of all, vengence would finally be within his grasp_.

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KARAKURA: Ichigo's Bedroom

Ichigo's jaw was still agape at the latest chain of events. _Rukia's freaking wings just shattered and dissolved into thin air._ He was blinking rapidly in stunned disbelief, rubbing his eyes to reassure himself that he wasn't dreaming.

Now that her wings were gone, Rukia had progressed to another level of pain. Her muscles were visibly cramped up tight. In addition, she currently had two fistfuls of hair by her temple clenched so taut, he thought she was in danger of yanking out clumps of hair.

Remembering his father's direction about tying her limbs down; he lightly picked her up and deposited her onto his king sized bed. Carefully extracting one hand by unclenching each finger by finger from her death grip on her hair, he reached over and deftly secured it to one bed post with an old neck tie of his. The neck tie had been a Christmas gift from his father one year. It boldly read, "I'm hot, young, single, got a good pension, love animals, and children. Marry me, please!" Of course, it was never worn, and after soundly thrashing his father that year for such an insulting gift; he hid it in the back of his dresser.

As he removed Rukia's other hand from her grip on the silken strands of her hair, he looked down and licked his upper lip lightly after noticing how sodden her robe was. It was so damp, the material was practically sheer. Clenching his teeth at his ruefully hardening erection, he decided to remove the one shouldered damp robe first before attempting to tie the other wrist to the head board with yet another horrid tie from a birthday present one year. This one proclaiming, "I'm big and brawny everywhere! Feel free to check me out."

However, this time he had to forcefully strain to get her other wrist in the correct position, while she feverishly struggled against his hold. Breathing hard from the exertion it required in restraining her, he took a moment to eye his handiwork. He swallowed hard at what was revealed. In the brisk cold night air, her sweat soaked skin caused her to shiver, while her nipples hardened reactively to the cold.

Hearing a soft whimper escape from Rukia shook him out of his daze. Ichigo swiftly reached for the box his father had hidden in his apartment. He was surprised that there wasn't just one flaming skull labeled vial, there were about fifty. He eyed them all distrustfully. Why would his father be hiding something like this here? Ichigo didn't believe in the sleep apnea excuse at all. In fact, he wouldn't put it past his father if this unknown cocktail was some sort of aphrodisiac or hormonal therapy to get the grandchildren he'd been harping about since he turned 21.

The only text he could find in the box was written on the inside of the lid in a dried red…. _What the fuck?! It looks like it was written by a murder victim—with his own blood!_ What in the world was his father doing with something like this?

_Use as needed. No more than once a day. Will cure everything.  
Side effects may result in the need for long soothing cool . . . . (wink wink)_

…

_P.S. To those who saw this and _

_thought it was some letter written _

_in a murder victim's blood horror movie cliché. _

_You have no sense of humor big time._

Gritting his teeth, and hoping he wouldn't regret this because he was out of options; he took one syringe and drained one vial of its contents. Looking for what looked like a vein on one of Rukia's arms, he injected the insulin into her blood stream.

At first, no perceivable change took place, but then she screamed soundlessly; and bit down so hard her teeth snapped all the sticks. Ichigo quickly removed the broken sticks so she wouldn't bite on the splinters through the cloth. Distraught, she yanked on her bound wrists so hard it caused the headboard to bang repeatedly against the wall. Then she began shaking like a leaf on a breezy day.

As abruptly as it started, she stopped and audibly sighed in apparent relief. But the blissful feeling began to fade. Before long, Rukia squirmed in obvious discomfort, sweating profusely once again. Taking his father's suggestion, he untied Rukia's belt and tugged down the robe the rest of the way. She whimpered slightly in anxious relief at the cool air upon her completely exposed skin. Trying to ignore his attentive cock, he wrung out the wet cloth in the water basin he placed near his night stand and began to wipe her down.

Carefully, starting with her forehead and face, he discovered that with her large eyes closed, her long eye lashes were so long that they created deep shadows under her eyes. Above her eyes graced thinly sculptured winged eyebrows. Her skin was absolutely flawless, and her lips were naturally a bright healthy pink. A_bsolutely beautiful. _Ichigo couldn't resist, he ran one thumb across her lips and admired their softness--obssesively curious about how they would feel covered by his own lips.

Her skin was flushed to match the warmth he felt she was emitting; and her nipples were visibly engorged--begging for attention. Mechanically, he wiped her arms with the wet cloth while he stared transfixed at those nipples. She groaned again, breaking his train of lustful thought. Ichigo frowned as he studied her closely. Her skin appeared as if it was sensitive everywhere. Something was definitely wrong. She arched back, squirming restlessly on the bed.

Barely conscious of real time events, Rukia was lost in a haze of strange unfamiliar sensations. She was losing control completely, her body arching, twisting, thrusting, and she didn't even realize she was doing it. She had no conception of time. A raging fever consumed her. Rukia felt like she was being tortured in fire once again, it didn't feel like pain but every fiber of her down to her soul burned. She would do anything to eradicate this foreign feeling. Her body was undulating, arching, and gyrating on the bed, seemingly in the throes of sexual passion.

Ichigo had always been aware of these motions in his more passionate bed partners, had felt such movements under him, delighted in them, but never had he observed them from a distance. The scene was immediately effective. He could feel his cock dampening his boxers in pre-cum.

"Please…." Rukia rasped out through parched lips, still awash in a haze of otherworldly feelings and sensations.

The soft plea stirred all his compassion and protective instincts. He left briefly to get a glass of tap water. When he returned, he lifted her head to bring the glass to her lips. She took a few sips, still delirious as her cheek turned toward his wrist and rubbed against it. Then her whole body turned toward him, as if drawn by the contact.

Gulping audibly, he pulled away to place the empty glass on the night stand.

"Christ, what the hell was in that shit?!" Ichigo exclaimed as he was flooded by the scent of her pheromones in the air.

Unable to resist, his body had a mind of its own. He swept his hands up and down her soft skin--unable decide where to linger his hands. He moved his hands caressingly over her rib cage, feeling up the pattern of delicate bones until his palms cupped those perfectly sized her breasts. Her head kicked back father and her mouth parted open in a surprised gasp. On reflex, he toyed with one of her nipples between his thumb and forefinger. Shaking himself out of his passionate daze, he realized what has hands had been doing and let go of her abruptly, but she groaned at the loss of his cool skin.

"No… so hot…please."

She was trembling. With cold? He wondered. Her cheek hadn't been hot. He put his hand to her forehead; it was cool. Yet she acted as though she was burning with fever. What the hell was this? And damned if he still didn't want her. She was still thrashing about on the bed and moaning quite vocally now. When he sat down beside her, her head leaned towards him. Her body calmed a bit, but she couldn't still her body. He cupped her cheek in his hand, her face immediately turned into his palm again.

"Shhh, everything will be alright." As he spoke, his free hand used the wet cloth to wipe down her arms, her shoulders, and dropped to her breasts. Her moan was long and drawn out. Ichigo jerked back his hand suddenly unsure about anything except for the intense desire to alleviate himself of the overpowering pressure in his cock.

When her legs shifted open slightly, Ichigo could clearly see her exposed clit above the glistening lips of the hairless junction of her thighs. _It was the final straw that broke the camel's back . . . . _The wet cloth dropped from his nerveless fingers, and Ichigo moved his bare hand down toward the oasis between her legs. Her hips immediately thrust up against his lightly probing fingers.

As he spread her legs further apart, the mattress began to quiver underneath her. The first stroke of his finger down her core nearly threw her over the edge. He froze temporarily as she let out a hoarse sound. When he got in range again, wide hands smoothed their way up the insides of her thighs, opening them even father. He leaned down, his shoulders bunching up hard, as he brushed his lips against her lustrous lips. This time when she jerked up off the bed, he just pressed another kiss to her again, and lathed it with a wet stroke of his tongue.

"Damn, you taste . . . " he muttered absently before going back down with his mouth.

Without conscious will, he found himself stretched out on the bed, spreading her knees further. His breath was hot and needy, his mouth hungry and desperate. He explored her with an erotic compulsion, licking and probing with his tongue, sucking with his lips. Ignoring her hips bucking and lurching hips, he continuead his meal of her without lifting his head once.

Rukia was riding on a turbulent sea of darkness, blindly following where the waves crested. She moaned as the throbbing accelerated with his touch. Her mind balked at what was her body was feeling, incapable of seeing, hearing, and thinking. Her body longed for the ending of such torturous sensation. She needed the coolness of his soothing hands. She needed…

She screamed, as pleasure erupted in shuddering, pulsating waves that went on and on, flooding her senses, washing away the unbearable heat.

Rukia appeared to float down into a sea of blissful lassitude. The tension had all but drained away, leaving her sated and infinitely relaxed.

Ichigo, feeling her orgasm rip through her raised himself briefly breathing hard. He looked down and wryly grimaced at the soggy wet shorts sticking to him. _He hadn't climaxed like that since . . . never. _It was almost like every lightening shock of her orgasm ripping through her was absorbed by him as well until they were one.

Slowly, for the first time, her eyes fluttered open like the wings of a butterfly.

Ichigo, still lying in between her legs stared at her in flabbergasted shock, his heart beat seemingly about to burst through his chest.

"_You're eyes…_" he gasped incoherently.

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**A/N:** Something to balance out the last chapter. Good, no good? Worth the wait? Please review and let me know what you thought.

FYI. There was some confusion on the last chapter for some of you or maybe all of you. I thought some of the details in the Osaka and the Kyoto scenes would gear you in on the timeline of the event, but it may have been too subtle. Unless otherwise implicitly stated, everything is current time. Flashbacks will usually be in all italics.


	9. Chapter 09: Touch of Darkness

**Title: ****Dream of Me**

**Chapter 9: Touch of Darkness**

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KARAKURA

Behind a shoji screen, a man sat quietly watching the television late at night.

"_Breaking News . . . ."_

"_Multiple homes have been targeted all over Japan . . . ."_

"_Police have refused to release details of the crimes yet. But our inside sources are calling this an organized Satanic Cult ritual killing spree. However, police are already dubbing these murders as the Zodiac Serial Murders."_

"_Our sources indicated that the chosen victims are all fortune tellers by profession."_

"_. . . children missing. If you've seen these children, please contact your local police agency as soon as possible . . . . "_

When the phone range, the watcher slowly turned off the television with the remote control in his hand.

Leaning over slightly, he reached for the phone on the side table. Before he could even say hello, the caller immediately began talking as soon as the phone was picked up.

"_Yes, I was watching . . . ."_

"_. . . ."_

He pulled the tip of his hat lower over his eyes. _"We'll just have to accept it as collateral damage . . . ."_

"_. . . ."_

"_It's still based on the theoretical at this point in time, for now all we can do is wait. And trust . . . . ."_

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KARAKURA: Ichigo's Bedroom

Rukia drifting weightless in a sea of darkness, calm and relaxed, but utterly alone. Far in the distance, something glinted out of the corner of her sight like a beacon from a light house on a foggy night. It's brilliance soon overshadowed all and became her focal point; and like a moth to a flame she couldn't help reaching out towards it. The closer she came towards it, images and sensations began to bombard her. But she was curious so she persisted in her destination. Ignoring that overpowering ball of tangled thoughts fighting for dominance in her head, she reached out to that light . . . .

And found her self blinking rapidly in confusion at the light that came to her eyes. Careful to not make any abrupt movement that would set her careening migraine out of control. She slowly scanned her surroundings, wondering why she had no physical motor skills.

The first thing that met her eyes was the ceiling. As she gradually became aware of a heaviness around her legs, she looked down and discovered Ichigo laying between her legs pinning them down.

He was gaping at her in disbelief.

Ichigo was stunned speechless, he was about to apologize to her for taking advantage of her unconscious state. However, when her eyes had opened, every thought he had had flown out of his head.

The heretofore large fey glowing orbs of her eyes were gone. Whereas before the glowing violet had encompassed her entire eyes as if the pupils had covered all the whites of her eyes; now her eyes looked entirely more . . . human. They still glowed slightly, but now the whites of her eyes were revealed. The only part that glowed was the dark violet irises surrounding pupils that were slowly adjusting to the lighting in the room.

When Rukia first opened her eyes, the irises were an intense glowing dark violet. But as her eyes slowly acclimated to the room, the color changed. Ichigo watched in utter fascination as her irises transitioned into a dark blue. Gawking at those eyes, he couldn't help but feel as if there were a celestial presence of a higher power behind those eyes.

As her eyes had faded from the less intense violet color to the blue, a foreign feeling surged through him, and he couldn't help gasping out loud "_You're eyes . . . ?_ "

Ichigo remembered when he had first met her in his dreams, he had originally thought she smelled like innocence and fresh snow. That didn't change even when he was kissing her so intimately earlier, it was the same. He ran his tongue across his lips, subconsciously hoping to catch any stray drops of her delicious juices as she climaxed on his tongue earlier. But as he looked at those slightly glowing blue eyes, all he could see was . . . _innocence_. _For fuck's sake, no one could be that innocent in this day and age, and she was a soul sucking demon for god knows how long._

She frowned subtly in dazed confusion and looked towards him. Her gaze dropping to the circle of wet stain on his boxers, then to her pinned legs.

As her gaze lingered on his boxers for long seconds, Ichigo remained silent. He was flushed a deep color, reminiscent of the strawberry he was constantly being nicknamed for.

When her shoulders bunched, she seemed to realize for the first time her arms were restrained. And slowly rotated her head from left to right, scanning to check for the cause of her immobility.

"Uhhh . . . it's not what it looks like . . . I can explain . . ." Ichigo stuttered out, completely mortified at how everything looked and how correct it was partially.

Rukia was confused, unable to comprehend anything. There was something beating a cacophony of noises, images, and thoughts running rampant in her head. Her head hurt, her body . . . _tingled_ . . . . _And why was she naked and tied to this headboard? _So many things clamored for attention in her mind that she felt positively overburdened with conflicting thoughts.

Seeing adult Ichigo between her legs with an obvious wet spot on his shorts didn't compute for her. She knew there were enough dots to connect, but she was getting inundated with that glob of intense unexplained _thing_ in her head. She flinched when it became unbearable; without realizing it, her eyes coated in a sheen of tears.

Ichigo was pulled out of his mortifying thoughts and half-assed formed excuses, when she winced and obviously tried to grip her head but couldn't because of her tied hands. Scrambling up her body so that he was straddling her, he quickly untied her hands since she didn't look like she was still in any danger of harming her self any longer.

Seeing Rukia's eyes welling up, Ichigo panicked. _Oh, shit! She was going to cry._ He'd never been able to handle a female's tears. It was a weak spot for him.

After hurriedly untying her, he pulled her up into his arms. Cradling her head against his chest, he tried to comfort her with muttered half reassurances. It wasn't until he felt her bare breasts plumped up next to his own equally bare chest that he remembered their state of undress. His body immediately tightened, and didn't back down as rain drops slid down his chest.

Rukia, unused to such a close proximity to someone—much less a mortal, pushed weakly against Ichigo to release herself. She paused when she felt warm liquid cascade down her cheeks. Touching her cheek with one hand, she eyed the clear liquid that came off her cheek in confusion. Her eyes widened in surprise, and whispered "_What has happened? Where did this come from?_"

It was then that she felt the way his arms had wrapped around her completely, unencumbered by her wings. Suddenly noticing its absence, she abruptly shoved Ichigo so hard that he released her and ended up falling off the bed. Ignoring the loud thump and the cursing that soon followed. In a state of near hysteria, she looked over one shoulder and tried to reach for her back with one arm. _Her wings, they were gone . . . ?_

She couldn't reach where her wings used to bisect her back, but she thought she could catch the glimmer of a silver swirling pattern out of the corner of her eyes on her back in place of her wings.

Rukia was in complete disbelief. _What had this impulsive brat done to her?_ Not only had he been able to see her in both the dream and real world, but he had some how stolen her wings. A surge of something boiled inside her, overpowering all those other things in her head and taking precedence. Unable to control the impulse, she jumped off the bed unmindful of her undressed state and almost landed on Ichigo's head. Placing one heel at the base of his neck and slowly applying pressure to it.

"How did you steal my wings, human? Give them back, you stupid strawberry!"

As soon Rukia had leapt off the bed, Ichigo couldn't help staring hungrily at Rukia. It reminded him of his first unimpeded view of her in the dream world. It didn't automatically click where her other raised foot was; images of him tasting those exposed rosy lips again assailed him. Ichigo was jerked from his hungry thoughts when his lungs clamored for air. Reflexively, he grasped the offending ankle and yanked hard, causing Rukia to fall down. He made sure to cushion her body with an exhaled grunt and immediately flipped her over when her elbows and knees aimed at anything within reach. With her now lying flat on her back, Ichigo used his weight to keep her pinned securely against the floor, and once again ended up laying casually between her legs.

Since nudity didn't appear to be a problem with her; he secured her wrists above her head with one hand and then reached down to yank his uncomfortable wet boxers off himself with the other. Ignoring his pulsating cock and trying not to lay it too close to the apex of her thighs. He spoke slowly to her as thought talking to a simpleton.

"Listen, little girl. I don't know what happened in the dream world, and I don't know why your wings abruptly shattered and dispersed. You should be grateful I was trying to help you while you were in obvious pain, you damn midget!" Inwardly, he winced guiltily at how he ended up helping her. _Could you cure someone by eating their . . . ._ He flushed red and tried to banish his erotic thoughts in his head.

Rukia's eyes narrowed in anger. "Without my wings, I cannot return home. And when I'm found, I will be even more severely punished. So undo what you did, fool!"

"I already told you, I'm not about to let you go back home to get tortured for whatever stupid reason. Besides I don't know what I did; therefore, I can't undo what I don't know."

"Get off of me, you idiotic lumbering strawberry!" Rukia said through gritted teeth, beginning to struggle in earnest. Using the advantage of his large frame, he merely settled his weight more firmly onto her to subdue her struggles.

"Not until you calm down, you freaking hell cat!"

Despite his words and actions, Ichigo was completely focused on something else. _If he shifted up a little, the head of his cock would be sinking into her. _When her continued resisted resulted in the unintentional rubbing of her lower lips against the head of his cock, he clenched his eyes shut, an almost inaudible growl escaping from his mouth before he could stop it.

Rukia froze at the sound. Her breathing hitched, and heart beat accelerated rapidly, as she finally became aware of her physical state and his intimate nearness for the first time. When his eyes opened up again, she gasped. Ichigo's eyes were the most intense shade of amber, almost glowing in the dim light.

Instantly, foreign images and sensations assailed her mind and body. Her nipples pebbled against his chest, and she could feel that useless place between her legs moistening and blossoming like a flower.

Ichigo was completely engulfed in a sensual fog of desire. His cock was pulsating to the same beat as the flared sign on his forearm. He stared at Rukia, breathing deeply with each passing second, trying to control his unruly impulses.

Rukia felt completely incapacitated and absolutely powerless. However, it didn't bother her for some inescapable reason. Something dormant was wakening inside her, for good or bad she couldn't foresee. Rukia simply stared at him, waiting . . . waiting for something she didn't know.

The longer Ichigo stared, he watched in incredulous amazement as Rukia's irises slowly changed colors into that amazing lust inducing glowing violet. He groaned out loud in surrender giving up the good fight for good.

The tide had just changed.

"_I'm going to roast in hell for this."_ Ichigo muttered half heartedly as he bent down, unable to resist the lure of forbidden fruit one moment longer.

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SEIREITEI

Elsewhere in another dimension, a long white haired man woke briefly from his doze. For a brief moment, he thought he felt something familiar, but impossible nevertheless.

_It wasn't possible . . . was it?_

Just as recognition lighted up his memories, the evidence winked out like it never existed.

_Kaien, what would you do?_

_

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**A/N:** Another IchiRuki moment, good...bad?

I forgot I had a 4 day weekend, so I was able to push out one more chapter this week. I may not publish next week due to my flared tendonitis, but we'll see. Maybe I'll be inspired, like I was today from all the great reviews.

_Thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I really do value your input._

_Please review and let me know what you think of the latest installment. _

_**FYI.** There are enough clues throughout all the chapters and scenes now, so you can start piecing everything together to solve most of the mystery. And yes even the smut sections have clues…. Nothing is random._

Hope you've enjoyed it.

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	10. Chapter 10: Kiss of Darkness

**Title: ****_Dream of Me_**

**Chapter 10: Kiss of Darkness**

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SEIREITEI

Seireitei, the mecha of archangels, was normally a place of peace, tranquility, and calmness. However, only distress could be felt in the current room, as head of all the archangels, Yamamoto, bore down on one of his officers.

"You are positive that you felt this particular presence?"

"Yes, I would recognize it anywhere."

"But, you said it disappeared. What you say cannot be possible. Request for investigation has been denied, you are hereby forbidden to go to the living realm. The last debacle you were involved in was never resolved successfully. If you feel that presence once again, then we will send someone not as intimately involved as you."

"Ultimately, it always falls to choice. If that is the path he chose to follow despite our ways, we can only abide by his decision. He will be judged when the time comes. "

Ukitake, slowly nodded in acquiescence, disappointed that if he didn't feel that presence again, he may never know what happened centuries ago. He had withheld mentioning to his superior about the other presence he had felt. It was very faint, but at the same time he had recognized it, a _marked one_. But like the other, it was impossible, because of its origins.

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KARAKURA: Ichigo's Bedroom

Rukia was softly panting for breath. She wasn't sure if it was caused by the erotic intent in Ichigo's luminescent amber eyes, or the fact that most of his weight was supported by her small frame.

When his lips descended on hers; their warmth was intoxicating, and for a moment they made even taking her next breath seem unimportant. With all the power and aggression harnessed in him, she only felt the light butterfly caresses of soft lips across hers. Each kiss contributed to her escalating pulse. Ever so softly and carefully, he ran his tongue across the seam of her lips, once . . . twice . . . thrice . . . . Then he nibbled on her bottom lip and gently tugged insistently. Before she knew it, his tongue demanded entrance into her mouth.

Rukia felt a wave of heat erupting up from deep within the core of her body, the splash of it oozing outward into every single vein and vessel. The feeling was strangely . . . _extraordinary_. Until she'd felt it for herself, she'd been honestly oblivious to her effect on him. Now, warmth slid like liquid fire along the underside of her skin, and she inherently knew it felt the same for him. Her tongue touched his of its own volition. She grew braver and undeniably curious.

Ichigo's mouth ravaged across hers with a desperation and primal need she had no hope of comprehending in her naïveté. It was if she were the last woman on earth, the only woman worth kissing. This level of frenzy surpassed far beyond all the reactions of her past victims, whom she had observed from a distance over the centuries she had been alive.

She didn't know where Ichigo began or Rukia ended. There was no concept of the individual self. They were melded into one: mind, body, and soul. She didn't know what all these new feelings and sensations were, nor did she care. She was slowly being swept away in a tide of desire that the memory of whom and what she was evaporated into the mist of an all consuming maelstrom of lust.

His skin temperature was increasing exponentially, nothing like the cooler skin of a Demon, and she could feel every degree like a taunting touch. Even her own naturally cool body was flung into extremes of heat not normal in her kind. A cacophony of urges washed through her, so many of them that her thoughts became a haze.

His hard, athletic physique burned its masculine strength into the curves of her softer, more pliant one. He was impossibly fit, every muscle blending perfectly into the next, and she could feel him positively vibrating with life. Ardently male and potent, it was everywhere.

Ichigo's mouth scorched against hers with a cunning sensuality that was pure instinctive need. He kissed her aggressively his hot mouth and the flick of his tongue touching her lips, both coaxing and demanding all at once, as if he knew something about her that she'd never discovered. There was a dizziness and rush of heat running rampant through her body, as the pounding pulses of her blood became the only sound in her ears. She tingled across her breasts and lower until she vibrated with need. Rukia felt an influx of adrenaline, then the wash of sensual desire she'd never conceived existed. She relaxed her lips against his, her heart fluttering like a wild bird caught in an unexpected snare.

Ichigo felt the inherent invitation keenly. He'd been waiting for it. He accepted it with an invading sweep of his tongue, moving deeply beyond her lips and seeking every hidden texture, taste, and crevice. Deliberately, he sucked her tongue into his own mouth, beguiling and tempting it into exploring it. It was the only thought in his head—making this contact, tasting her in a specific way, dragging her flavor into dimensions rich enough to drive a saint insane. All flowing thoughts were focused within the haven of a hot, sweet kiss. There was nothing else.

His hands reached for her own, threading his fingers through hers above her head, imprinting his body more firmly onto Rukia's. Throughout it all, Ichigo's lower body lazily rocked against that oh so tempting slick heat between Rukia's womanhood; his thrusting tongue simulating the motions of his lower body.

She tasted so incredibly sweet, a rich cool combination of fresh snow and the innocence of pure Rukia. _Could one orgasm from simply a kiss?_ He never thought it was possible, but he was so close to it. He was utterly lost in the vortex of a desire, he had never known existed.

He released her mouth suddenly, his breath coming so hard that they breathed in tune to one another as they lay entangled together. His eyes searched her face restlessly, studying her as if she were some sort of complex puzzle, drawn again and again to those vivid violet eyes.

Rukia could do little more than lay passively underneath him, trapped as she was against his demanding, dominant body. She watched his nostrils flare as he took a deep, purposeful breath, as if he was drawing in a fragrance. Then he leaned in and nuzzled her neck, inhaling deeply against her skin. His tongue left a swirling wet path over the skin above her rapidly beating pulse, his teeth scraping raw over the column of her neck. She shivered under the potent combination of his gentle and rough stimulation.

Ichigo felt her body tremble and undulate beneath his. He growled low in his throat as he sought her mouth once more, branding her with his taste, imprinting his own scent onto her supple body. She made a soft sexy little whimper, and it burned over his raw senses.

Rukia felt the thunderous beat of his heart against her breasts, the vibration throbbing right through her entire body.

Ichigo was acting purely on impulse and instinct, every wild twist of his mouth against hers a reflection of that mindless need for gratification. Rukia made an abandoned sound of pleasure, wriggling up toward his aggressive frame instinctively. He groaned with increased need at her eager reciprocating response.

Rukia was drowning in his fierce passion, hypnotized by the motions of his body as he used her mouth with wicked skill and intent. He moved against her in desperate urgency in his need to caress all of her at once.

Their melded bodies jolted as Rukia's body surged abruptly against Ichigo causing the tip of his cock to unintentionally slide into her sheath with the perfect angle. He froze and tore his mouth from hers momentarily to rest his forehead against her own, eyes still closed. After several seconds of heavy breathing passed, he slowly raised his head and eyed her through heavily lidded lust laden eyes. Untangling his fingers from Rukia's, he used one hand to brace himself above Rukia while he scanned her luscious body to the area he was partially lodged within her.

His eyes darkened further, and he leaned back down to cover her mouth once again, unable to resist the separation any longer. He made savage use of her mouth, kissing her until she was bruised, gasping for breath and moaning sounds of encouragement that scraped over his already raw senses. He was bombarded by her natural scent, her aroused sex, and her blood as it pooled and heated in her wet tight sheath. The mixture was heady, and he felt as if he were swimming in it. Below, he continued lightly thrusting against her, not quite withdrawing completely before sliding back into that slick heat partially.

With his free hand, he carefully ran one thumb over one perfectly sculpted cheekbone before running it softly down her neck, shoulders, and finally to her pert breasts that were rubbing those wonderful rigid nipples against his sensitive chest. Impatiently, Ichigo molded one breast as he rubbed his palm against its nipple. Drawing one peaked nipple between thumb and forefinger, he rolled it into a deft pinch.

Rukia arched against him strongly in surprised pleasure, causing Ichigo to finally sink the entire head of his cock pass that tight restrictive opening. Once again, he hesitated and prevented his body from going any further as he tore his mouth away, waiting for her body to adjust to the foreign intrusion in her body. He could feel that it had hurt her slightly, and he felt somewhat guilty by that. But he couldn't ignore that slick wet tight heat that was all Rukia, and how good it felt even with only the head of his cock seated in. It was like a whirlpool, swirling and pulling him into an abyss of a pleasure so profound he could only dream of.

Ichigo's senses roared, every nerve ending in his body broadcasting her heat, her sultry perspiration, and her deliciously lithe pale skin. The animal within was so close to the surface now that he could hear it howling in the recesses of his mind. This woman, this demon—he didn't care what her origins were, with this impossibly tempting body, was his.

"_Mine_," he growled, low and dangerously, as he lowered his head and lathed one nipple with the wet heat of his tongue before drawing it in completely to suckle rhythmically into the warmth of his mouth. Every once in a while he would roughly nibble on the protruding nub and scrape his teeth across it, only to feel her gasp and quiver in response. The process was repeated to the other neglected breast before he began to once again thrust shallowly against her, not quite reaching that barrier that marked her centuries' long chastity.

Reaching down in between their bodies to that wonderful slick heat in between her legs he toyed with her clit as he ran a rough calloused thumb over the exposed flesh repeatedly. Rukia shivered and clumsily lurched against his hips in response. Just as he was rubbing his thumb against the outside ring of that super tight muscle encircling him to help induce it to relax, a jarring noise catapulted all his pleasant sensations out the window.

Rukia, in turn, winced and drew her hands to her temples in pain, all her previous unpleasant mental pains immediately recalled to the fore.

Ichigo swallowed hard, and withdrew his obviously unfulfilled wet cock back out. His cock was positively weeping in despair at the separation. He slowly stood and picked up his telephone blindly, while continuing to eye Rukia's beautiful exposed body on the floor. His body was literally trembling in need.

He never noticed that the symbols on his forearms were glowing to the tempo of his pulse.

**

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**

ABADDON

Striding down the halls and in a lackadaisical manner, Ichimaru reached his destination and knocked on the door before entering without waiting for an invitation.

The demon within simply threw him a scathing glare before returning back to the conversation he was conducting.

"Here is a picture of her. I need her alive and untouched."

Lengthy clawed fingers reached for the picture.

"This is her scent, remember it well."

Another clawed finger reached for the lock of raven haired bundled with a simple linen tie.

"I want her found as soon as possible. Or suffer the consequences. What is made can easily be unmade. Understood?"

Ten cloaked figures simply stared sightlessly through the shadows of their cloaked figures and abruptly turned and exited through a hidden door within the chamber.

"So, it's true. I didn't think your little pet would ever cut loose of her nurse strings. " Ichimaru taunted without a care in the world.

"I see you're pulling out the big guns too. Espada . . . ." Ichimaru wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Why are you here? We agreed that it would be too dangerous for you to be seen with me."

"Well, danger is my middle name, isn't it?" Ichimaru snarled.

"I suppose it is, isn't it? Now spit it out. Why are you here?"

"Well, a little birdie told me that the Lord Enforcer is tracking your little runaway stray." Ichimaru smirked before turning around and exiting the room with those last words.

Alone at last, the demon withdrew the snowflake amulet from his robe out in the open of the candle lit room. His hands trembled briefly before he could still it, glad that no one was around to observe the telltale sign. Raising the amulet higher in the light, his eyes narrowing as he looked closer.

If he wasn't imagining it, that hairline crack had been extended by a millimeter or so.

Outside, Ichimaru smirked as he heard something metal thrown against the wall in a fit of momentary anger; things may be looking up for him. Control was a finite weapon, only as long as you had the power.

**

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**

HUECO MUNDO

Below in the hidden room, a small pink haired toddler sat on the floor in the middle of an encircled pentagram. She was sucking loudly on a lollipop, observing the cloaked figures surrounding her with wide eyed curiosity.

When the chanting began, she only giggled in response and continued enjoying her lollipop calmly. Unseen from the cloaked figures, she fingered the sparkling trinket she hid in her pocket.

**

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**

A/N:

Getting clearer yet? I was a little reluctant to release this chapter, because it means I can't quite keep things hidden any longer as I slowly wrap up.

Good, bad, or hot enough? Please drop me a review and let me know what you thought of the latest chapter.

My hands, wrists, and elbows are aching so this will probably be the only chapter this week as I go back to work. Hope you enjoyed it.

Personal thanks to everyone who has reviewed, I really appreciate it.


	11. Chapter 11: Duty Calls

**Title: ****_Dream of Me_**

**Chapter 11: Duty Calls**

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**KARAKURA: Ichigo's Bedroom**

Ichigo distractedly placed the receiver next to his ear. His blood pumped hot, and he tightened his fists. Ichigo set his jaw and worked to tolerate the painful pulse in his hard cock.

"Kurosaki, here." He mumbled a reply out while openly lusting at the leading character of his wet dream still visibly present on the floor. _Damn, she's beautiful._ He was a little concerned about her headache, but it seemed to be lightening up somewhat judging by the easing of her tight expression.

_"Ichigo, it's Chad. "_

"Chad? What's up?"

_"We've got a hot one. "_

At Chad's reply, in a single instant, Ichigo's focus snapped back to the real world.

"Shit! My ETA is about 50+ minutes. My Dad parked his huge ass van on my bike a couple of days ago, and it's still in the shop."

_"I'm on route, be there in 15. "_

"15 minutes? Thanks, Chad. I owe you one."

After hanging up, Ichigo leaned down to lift Rukia in his arms, cradling her protectively against his chest. He walked to the bed and gently placed her in the center of it, pulling the sheets and blankets up to her neck.

The pain in her eyes had receded, and once again her eyes changed back to that fascinating celestial glowing blue. Eyes unlike any he had seen before; serious with traces of something like sadness—and the color. A dark indigo, that made his heart ache for some reason.

Rukia was staring at him unblinking trying to decipher the mortal in front of her. Ever since she had found him, he made her feel . . . _things_.

It was purely by chance one night while she was collecting another soul in the area that she ran across him. There was so much intense emotional energy leaking out of the open window above her, that it was like a bright beacon on a cloudy sea. At first, she thought she would investigate the person emitting such a strong energy for future purposes. But once she had tuned into his dreams, something continually pulled her back night after night. There was something locked within the mystery of Ichigo, something oddly familiar. As a result, until she could put her mind at ease, she was willing to risk the possibility of punishment each night if she were found out, to try to decode the mortal known as Ichigo.

Ichigo was a little discomfited; Rukia's gaze held his so deeply, so totally, she might have been appraising his body, his soul, hell, maybe even his DNA.

To erase that bug under the microscope feeling, he leaned over her briefly to gently brush his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. However, once he lifted his head and looked up into eyes gone violet, he couldn't resist another pass. As he lingered above her, continually savoring her lips, his hand shifted with a will of its own and swept under the sheet to cradle one perfect breast. Its nipple immediately pebbled against the center of his palm. Groaning with reluctance, he pulled away before his wandering hand delved lower into her silky wet heat, and strode quickly into the bathroom. Chad would be here any minute.

Inside the bathroom, he quickly grabbed his toothbrush into the shower, and brushed his teeth while using the coldest water he could tap into.

Ichigo had never been so hard in his life, where his body was pulsating with all his will power to jump in the bed with Rukia and pound out this frustration and desire so hard that his bones melted. He needed his entire thought processes cob web free of its desire. He took the fastest shower he could. The freezing cold shower may have left him blue with chattering teeth, but it took care of the cockstand that wouldn't quit.

That is . . . until he pulled the shower door open, and mini me was saluting for attention at the vision revealed before him. He flushed hot scarlet in response to his sudden glimpse of paradise.

Without his awareness, Rukia had slipped into the bathroom. His mouth watered, as he observed she was still gorgeously naked. _I could definitely get used to this._ Her back was facing the mirror while her long tangle of hair was swept over her shoulders, concealing her breasts. However, he was still able to view one berry nipple peeking out from the cold air in the room through the strands of her hair. Her head was turned towards the mirror eyeing the intricate markings on her back.

Throughout the night and early morning, he hadn't noticed those markings before. Perhaps, all his brain was capable of noticing at the time were the rest of her womanly parts. But now that he could see Rukia's back clearly, he would have to say that her back was just as beautiful as the rest of her. Her skin remained pale and slightly luminescent in the lighting. Down lower, trailing her lower vertebrae on either side, were two dimples resting above the most tight curvaceous ass he had ever seen. Ichigo was postively salivating at running his hands down those dimples, then kissing, nibbling, and sucking on them.

Rukia's urge to look at her back was nigh impossible to ignore. After a quick appraisal of Ichigo's bedroom, she ended up following Ichigo into the bathroom not too long after he started to shower. The bathroom was the only place she could find a mirror large enough to view her back. She couldn't help gawking at the strange swirling silver patterns on her back in place of wings, she'd never heard of this phenomenon happening to any of the Oneroi. In fact, she had never heard of any Oneroi loosing their powers.

Without her wings, she was having some physical balance issues, overcompensating for the loss of weight on her back. A brief, hot sensation gripped her like standing in a shooting flame—but everything happened faster now without as much physical pain, as she slowly adjusted to this shape. The mortal realm felt off kilter to her, and she definitely did not feel comfortable in her own skin. And these tangled thoughts, feelings, and sensations lumped in her head made her want to cry and scream in agony. Rukia still didn't know what to think of all the liberties that a human had dared taken with her. It was mixed up in that ball of _something_ in her head. She felt powerless, and she hated to feel powerless.

Consumed with her internal thoughts, she was unaware that a naked and wet Ichigo was eyeing her hungrily only a couple of feet away from her. She was shocked out of her reverie, when the front of her body met a wet sculpted muscled body, completely unashamed of the distended _man-thing_ poking her lower belly. She gasped at the contact. He simply leaned over her, reaching around her with both hands and ran gentle curious fingers along the swirling silver patterns. They both moaned in shocked pleasure. It sounded like the perfect pitch of a tuning fork in their heads.

Rukia's skin tingled everywhere, but he didn't smirk or grin, even though he had to have seen the effect his touch had on her.

Ichigo was slowly leaning down towards Rukia's delectable mouth, when the sudden pounding on the front door brought him back to his senses. Abruptly he jerked away from a confused Rukia.

Rukia was slightly disorientated by the sequence of events. She had been waiting with abated breath to feel that all encompassing sensation that in all her centuries only this mortal could produce. _Was she coming into heat finally? _She would have to ponder this further.

"Fuck. I don't have time for this." He tugged on a towel nearby, quickly rubbing his body and hair dry with one hand. While his other hand grabbed one delicate wrist dragging Rukia out of the bathroom and back into his bedroom. All the while, yelling loudly out across the apartment.

"I'll be there in a minute, Chad. Let me grab some clothes."

Back inside his room, he threw on a long sleeved button shirt to cover the new mark on his forearm, a pair of boxers, and some slacks on. When he noticed a quiet but naked Rukia still standing next to him, curiously looking at the contents of his desk top, he almost jumped in surprise having forgotten why he had dragged her next to him the first place. Quickly grabbing his favorite "Nice Vibe" shirt, he threw it over her head, and helped her pull her arms through the sleeves. The shirt hung to mid thigh on her. It would have to do. Albeit, seeing her in his favorite worn shirt renewed his desire. And the feeling of possession overwhelmed him momentarily before he shook himself out his daze.

Tugging her back out into his apartment living room near his front door, he turned around and cradled her head in both of his hands.

"Look at me properly." Ichigo softly demanded. When she complied silently, he continued.

The force of her gaze touched Ichigo directly in the center of his being, setting off shivers that only doubled when he said, "I know who you are."

His deep, sexy voice reminded her of wind rushing through mountains—and sounded familiar enough to make her process what he said.

Her body vibrated with each rumbling word, and her mind instantly blew through several interpretations of that comment.

Rukia's expression turned dark, along with her eyes, which seemed to reflect every nuance of her mood.

"Don't be afraid. I'm here to protect and help you. I know everything is out of whack right now, but we'll figure it out when I get back. Ok? Don't leave, please?"

She slowly nodded, and he trusted that she would still be here when he got back. He tried to brush that stubborn lock of hair in between her eyes to the side, but it shifted back with her next breath.

Ichigo leisurely leaned down for a brief but thoroughly possessive goodbye kiss that left Rukia finger combing his hair and rubbing her body against all the planes and angles of his body in a temptuous stupor. He lightly squeezed the one cheek his hand has been cupping beneath her shirt before he withdrew his tongue and released her. With one last intense look at Rukia, he unlocked the door and exited his apartment.

Rukia, remained still, staring at the now closed front door, lightly retracing the path his lips had taken with her fingertips.

Outside, Chad was leaning against the wall.

"Sorry for making you wait, Chad."

Chad only shrugged his shoulders in reply.

As Ichigo turned around and locked the door with his key, he paused briefly as Chad asked a question that had been plaguing him since he realized Ichigo wasn't home alone.

"Who was that you were talking to?"

Carefully locking the door, he turned and walked down the hallway, scratching the back of his head and flushing slightly.

"Well, it's a long story. I seem to have acquired a roommate between last night and now." Ichigo confessed bashfully.

Not one with words, Chad simply grunted in reply. Inwardly though, he was vastly shocked that Ichigo would allow anyone to room with him. Ichigo had once told him that his father's morning ritual attacks made him wary of anyone living with him, he could accidentally attack them if his unconscious self thought it was being annoyed or attacked. What was more surprising was that he could have sworn Ichigo's roomate's voice was definitely feminine in nature. Other than his sisters, no other woman was allowed entrance, much less room and board. He would keep this information to himself though, because he didn't know what Orihime would do once she found out.

In the car, Ichigo asked Chad to fill him in on the details about the latest case.

"You haven't heard about the Zodiac serial killings all over Japan?" Chad asked in surprise.

"Well, I had sort of a rough patch last night, so I haven't turned on the TV or read the newspaper yet."

"It all started last night, multiple fortune tellers' homes were targeted, while their children were taken. But the most disturbing part of it all is how the fortune tellers and whoever was unluckily to be with them died. You'll find out what I'm talking about when we get there."

Ichigo's lingering arousal faded away as he considered what Chad had just told them. His attention automatically moved back to the coincidence of his meeting with Rukia last night and all these other homicides. But he kept his thoughts to himself.

* * *

**HUECO MUNDO**

Inside a small cell, a meek timid raven haired girl sat curled up in one corner, hugging her upraised knees. She was eyeing the door that had taken away the pink haired toddler. All the children that had been taken away had not come back. Somehow she knew intrinsically that they were not optimistically releasing all the prisoners one by one either.

"I'm scared, Jinta. I want my Mommy. I want to go home." Ururu whispered softly.

Besides her, in another cell, Jinta grunted in reply.

"Stop your sniveling. Damn, I wish I had my bat." The red haired temperamental boy snarled at Ururu.

He was working frantically to try to unlock the door with some of the pick locket tools he had stashed in his shoes for emergencies when he wanted to do a candy raid on a store in the middle of the night.

Inwardly, Jinta knew one of them was next, and the sands of time were quickly falling.

**

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**

A/N:

Not much feedback on the last chapter, I guess people didn't like it …?

Any comments, feedback, observations, or guesses? Please drop me a review.

* * *


	12. Chapter 12: Scent of Darkness

**Title: _Dream of Me_**

**Chapter 12: Scent of Darkness**

**

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**

KARAKURA

When Ichigo and Chad reached their destination, they ended up having to park quite a ways away because of the ring of reporters and bystander traffic loitering thickly around the murder scene. As they both walked to the taped off scene, a series of light bulbs went off and a couple of reporters tried to shove microphones at them, but they skillfully avoided each thrust with a side step away.

There were already a whole series of crime scene investigators combing the outside and inside of the small town house. They checked for foot prints on the grass, finger prints on the windows, and on any nearby parked cars.

Ichigo and Chad both ducked below the tape blocking the door. However, before they could completely enter the home, they were immediately waylaid and asked to place their rubber gloves on now and wear booties over their shoes so that they wouldn't contaminate the evidence further. Once they were both booted and ready to enter, they found out why the booties were so important.

Ichigo's gut twisted at the scene. Dried blood speckled the walls from ceiling to floor. He didn't think it was possible for this much blood to come from a single body. He was correct in his assumption when he saw the taped outline of multiple dismembered human body parts carefully arrayed around the room. The amount of duplicate body parts equaled more than one body.

His eyes widened in shock however, when he saw the wall behind him. Underneath the dried blood was a mark as if it had been burnt on the wall with a fine precision blow torch. He couldn't help but unconsciously touch his sleeved forearm with his other hand.

Inlaid on the wall, was a picture of a large pentagram in a circle. He couldn't quite make out the symbols embedded in each line, but he was inwardly relieved that it looked subtly different from his own branding.

However, one cracked picture frame drew his eyes as it lay forlornly on the floor. It was a picture of a pink haired toddler on top of the shoulders of a man they knew extremely well.

"_Shit!_ The Captain is not going to be a happy camper."

When Chad glanced at him in confusion, he looked where Ichigo jerked his chin to. He commiserated with Ichigo, as his normally stoic faced morphed into a grimace as well at the thought of being the bearer of bad news to the picture's occupant.

Both Ichigo and Chad slowly perused one end of the room to the other in minute detail, cataloguing specific things in their heads and in their notes. Time of deaths would have to wait for the coroner's analysis, because judging by the dried blood the massacre had taken place probably anytime from midnight to early morning.

There were no obvious signs of forced entry either through the windows or the doors down stairs; nor were there signs of even a possible murder weapon blunt or otherwise. For all intents and purposes, the entire room was staged to look like a while animal had torn into the bodies because no clean cut could be determined to the visual eye judging by the jagged edges of the exposed flesh. All the parts were raggedly torn asunder from its original occupant. The strength required to pull apart a body like that would be inhumanely phenomenal without the use of instruments; and yet, not a single _fucking_ clue could be found in any trace of the dried blood.

The one main irritant that really bothered Ichigo was that other than a few knocked over items, the pentagram on the wall, and the bloody coating of everything; the entire room was basically left intact. Theoretically, even if some wild animal had been loosened on the room, there would have been more destruction to the surrounding area. In this case, the majority of the room was left undisturbed. Leaving that mystery alone for now, they wrapped up their observations of the murder scene before heading upstairs.

In contrast to the bloody chaotic massacre that was downstairs, upstairs was pristinely spotless. However, the massacre downstairs occurred, the murderer or murderers mysteriously walked up and down the stairs without leaving some sort of bloody evidence.

Even if they wore some sort of hazmat suit to conceal their evidence as they killed the victims, the perpetuators would have had to take it off before coming upstairs. But neither Ichigo nor Chad could find a single drop of blood beyond that initial killing spree room. Absolutely none could be found on the steps either. They even resorted to using special lighting equipment to check the floor and walls in case the killers had cleaned the blood off. But nothing, they couldn't find zilch. The worse part of their search was that the last impressions on the carpet were obviously made by a child.

The upstairs held 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, one bedroom was obviously a child's room in its pink walled glory, and the other was obviously her mother' room.

Looking through the adult room first, Ichigo and Chad rifled through the dressers and through the small office desk. They found some marijuana leaves in the back of one dresser drawer, and even found multiple packets of possibly methamphetamine taped below another drawer. Not ruling out the possibility of a drug deal gone bad scenario, they bagged the evidence to analyze later.

Ichigo, however, hit pay dirt when he located a client list of contacts hidden inside a ledger concealed in a hidden compartment within the desk. Whether it was the fortune teller's list for official clients or the one for the possible drug trafficking, he wasn't able to extrapolate. There was always the possibility that the victims were killed in anger over clients unhappy with their fortunes as well. Nothing could be ruled out. They did find some smoking pipes, so obviously the victim had been a user of her wares as well.

The bathroom yielded nothing out of the ordinary. The other investigators had already dusted the room for fingerprints and checked for blood in the washing areas. It all came out negative as well.

In the second bedroom, the child's room, nothing appeared out of place; even the bed was only slightly mussed as if the occupant had simply just got out and slid down the bed by herself. There were still a couple of strands of obvious pink hair on the pillow, but nothing in the room looked out of the ordinary. In fact, there was no trace of any intruder having entered the room whatsoever.

Even the window was safely secured from the inside, so whoever grabbed the child couldn't have escaped that way. To walk in and out of this bedroom without leaving a single mark from the bloodshed downstairs was near impossible. They would have to wait for the full analysis from all the evidence gathered at the homicide scene later.

For now they were at a road block with the actual crime scene itself, so they spent the next several hours gathering as much intel from the neighbors and any possible witnesses that they could. But for all intents and purposes, both Ichigo and Chad were completely baffled.

Apparently one or more perpetuators or possibly thing had entered the premises without any signs of forced entry. Then they had proceeded to tear the occupants to pieces while performing some sort of satanic ritual on the wall. Afterwards, they had taken the child and soundlessly left as they came. None of the neighbors recalled any unusual noises or disturbances. In fact all the neighbors were surprised when asked; the only thing unusual about the noise was its lack thereof. They all commented that last night, everyone slept soundlessly and had the best night's rest they have ever had in their lives.

Something about that tickled the back of his mind. But when his memories pulled Rukia's image to the fore, he got sidetracked from his current train of thoughts by the peeking interest of the _little guy downstairs_. Immediately, he banished her image out of his thoughts as much as he could, people would think he was a sick bastard if they caught wind of a detective getting wood at a homicide scene. _So not appropriate . . . ._

The only reason the scene took so long to be called in was because there was nothing unusual from all outward appearances with the small town house. In fact, the only reason why the scene was called in was because a walking passerby taking his dog for a leak had lost control of his pet. The pet had run barking towards the fortune teller's home. When its owner went to retrieve the dog, as he bent over to pick up the small Chihuahua he caught a glimpse of a dismembered body part through the window. After emptying his stomach out in a nearby bush, he immediately ran to the neighboring house to borrow their phone to notify the police of his horrifying observations.

Having gathered as much information as they could at the crime scene, Ichigo and Chad headed towards the station to type up their findings in a report to their superiors and to contact the other districts for any links to their own Zodiac serial murders.

_Where were all the missing children, and what were the killers planning to do with them?_

**

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HUECO MUNDO

Inside his locked cell, Jinta was still trying to finagle the lock on his door with his tools, but he couldn't quite get the right leverage.

Suddenly loud inhuman tortured cries rang through the walls, directly on the heels of those eerie sounds; a loud vibration rocked the ceiling so hard that dust particles rained down on them. The absolute silence following afterwards was even more frightening than the earth quaking vibrations.

Jinta's show of bravado instantly evaporated. He gulped down the dry lump in his throat hard, and went towards the area where his cell divided with Ururu's. He sat next to her as close as he could. Simultaneously and wordlessly they reached for each other's trembling hands through the bars separating them.

_They were next._

**

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**

A/N:

Enough drama, suspense, and mystery?

Everything will be quickly clicking into clarity soon, if it hasn't yet.

Please drop me a review and let me know what you thought of the latest chapter.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed or marked this story on their alerts list, I really appreciate it.

I'll strive to get the next chapter out before Friday. I'm scheduled to receive cortisone shots for my tendonitis on Friday, so I'll be off the computer for 5 days while I heal somewhat.

Next Chapter: Rukia's POV


	13. Chapter 13: Finder's Keepers

**Title: _Dream of Me_**

**Chapter 13: Finder's Keepers**

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**HUECO MUNDO**

Several floors above Jinta and Ururu, sat a pink haired toddler. She continued sucking on the cherry flavored lollipop in her mouth. She looked about curiously as the smoke cleared through the air vents. Her ears were still ringing from the amazing pyrotechnic show that had been before her very excited eyes. If she hadn't been holding her lollipop stick, she would have clapped at the encore instead she just giggled in delight.

Sitting obediently still within the encircled pentagram as she was bade, she was the only thing in the room that was left unscathed.

Everything outside of the circle had obviously been obliterated. What had once been cloaked and chanting figures surrounding her were now nothing but scorch marks upon the blackened and cracked walls.

When the little girl looked around and found no eyes upon her, she pulled out the shiny jewel she had snaffled out of her pocket in the open to play with it. She loved shiny objects, the way they glittered in the light always delighted her.

If there was one thing that Yachiru's mother had taught her well, it was the art of grifting sight unseen. It was this one remaining legacy passed to her daughter that saved her life.

* * *

**KARAKURA**

For long moments, Rukia remained silently staring at the door Ichigo had exited. The fog induced by Ichigo's mind numbing kiss began to slowly dissipate enough for Rukia to reign in her senses. Closing her eyes shut, she rubbed the sides of her head, trying to chase the dull, tired throb, and the hazy stupor of Ichigo's overpowering presence.

Now that her thoughts were logically focused once again, she began to pay more attention to her surroundings. Dozens of different smells, colors, and conversations assaulted her acute senses. Groaning softly to herself to fight the pain of so much stimulation, Rukia felt like her head might explode.

Trying to ignore that constant buzz in her head, Rukia decided to explore her new humble abode further. It was a small apartment replete with a small kitchen, living room, a bathroom, and one bedroom; despite its size, it gave off a homey, warm, and cozy ambience.

The contrast between Ichigo's home and her own stark white sleeping chamber was startling to say the least. No pictures adorned her barren walls, nor were there any furniture other than a small makeshift pallet of blankets on the floor in the corner. Such a maelstrom of colors in her century's long habitat would have been normally horrifying as well.

Demons had no personal attachments to material goods or even to their fellow brethren. As a result, Demons rarely made personal artifacts or pictures a common occurrence.

Despite all of that, Rukia did have one thing that she treasured above all else. Albeit, it remained safely hidden out of sight behind a false wall stone and a demon spell to remain undetected in her room. Instinctively, she knew that it would be taken away from her if it was ever found. She didn't know its origins, but from the time of her first awareness it gave her comfort and she became uncommonly very _non-demon like_ and possessively attached to it. In a world of fire and brimstone, that small white scrap of cloth was like a hidden water oasis in an endless sand dessert. It gave her comfort and hope like nothing else could. Hope for what she never knew.

She trailed her fingers across several pictures she assumed to be family members. One father, 2 younger sisters, and then she found another picture she recognized—his mother hugging a young Ichigo by the very river she had been killed by. He looked so well loved and happy. A foreign feeling sank to the pit of her stomach. Rukia had trouble deciphering it though. Was it pity? Perhaps it was sympathy.

She also found several more photos laid randomly throughout the available table space in the living room. One photo pictured a young group of people including Ichigo. He was scowling uncomfortably at the camera. Rukia's eyes were drawn to a familiar long orange haired girl on the other side of the picture, smiling vacuously as she looked out of the corner of her eyes towards Ichigo. In between them were assorted other humans of varying sizes, colors, and shapes of the same age.

She didn't quite know why, but that orange haired girl set her mind at unease for some reason. Perhaps it was because her bosom was so large. Over the centuries, she had found that through nature or artificial means, women with those sized bosoms tended to use their guile to trap various men and even women into their insidious schemes. Unfortunately, most men were happy regardless of their plotted downfalls completely satisfied by a fawning young and lushly attractive female.

Although, Ichigo appeared to not fit the norm of that generalization. It was like he had a short fuse after him, and he couldn't run fast enough from the dream version of that curvaceous female. Rukia still found it disbelieving that she had been incorrect in a mortal's ultimate desire for the first time. She had never been wrong before.

Wherever she looked, no trace of female companionship could be seen. Rukia was somewhat surprised by that. Since her awakening Ichigo had been extremely touchy feely in a possessive way. Now that she thought about, he had actually been thus in the dream world as well. And if she wasn't mistaken she could swear that while she was unconscious in the real world, she had felt his lips and skin stroking hers to a timeless tempo.

In fact, since she had been grounded with the loss of her wings, it felt like Ichigo gave off wave after wave of unrequited heat. He was like a stallion chewing at the bit to cover the mare of his choice. She felt heat run from head to toe at that thought. She touched her cheek in consternation. Did she just blush at the thought of a mortal? Her head ached at the bizarre feeling.

Rukia was in a quandary about the whole _unnamed thing_ that was between them. Although, it appeared that Ichigo had no problems in that area. His body appeared to know exactly what it wanted to do with hers. Just because she had never been in heat didn't mean she was entirely clueless about sexual desire. She had seduced plenty of mortals with their sexual fantasies, so that nothing could surprise her anymore. However, she had never felt it directed at herself before. It was all extremely strange to herself.

In her darkest corner of her mind, she had always wondered what it would feel like to want and be wanted in return. As the centuries passed with no sign of the mating heat, that slight curiosity had receded further and further to the back of her mind. With the latency of her mating heat, she didn't have to think about who she would mate with. She was so different that she was ostracized to the point of isolation in the Oneroi world.

Byakuya, the Enforcer, had always been the all time favored Succubi mate. His genetic material being deemed the most beautiful of the Incubi. But over the centuries he had rejected all approaches for potential mating rituals. She sincerely doubted one of his rank and beauty would ever agree to a clandestine arrangement with her. It was a little disheartening to be slightly relieved that her heat never came, otherwise she surmised she would be in a world of uncomfortable pain when that time came because she couldn't find a compatible mate. Never in all her wildest imaginings did she think a mortal would be the one to introduce her to the sensation of desire.

She ran across another picture of him standing in a new police uniform with a similarly dressed tall dark skinned man. His companion looked like an older version of one of the young people in the other group picture.

For a lone male, he was surprising clean and tidy. Most of the male mortals she had observed tended to be the extreme on either side of the spectrum of cleanliness or sloth.

As she walked across inspecting all the knickknacks and odds and ends in the apartment, she passed one window where the curtains were drawn. The bright shining sunlight on her skin made her gasp in delighted surprise. It had been so long since she had felt the sunlight, decades perhaps centuries. She walked more fully into the sun, closed her eyes, and tilted her head back; basking in the rays of warmth. A huge yawn cracked her mouth, disturbing that calm feeling. Her duties were in the evenings, so she tended to sleep during the mornings and most of the day.

Back inside his bedroom, she poked around Ichigo's wares and looked through his closet. She notices that he had some extra bedding laid inside the closet over a dresser. She opted out of sleeping on the bed because it would leave her too exposed during her deep sleep. Instead, she climbed into the close confines of the closet on top of the folded bedding and laid down to rest.

Despite missing that comforting hidden little scrap of cloth that had been soothing her to sleep for centuries; it was comforting to be so enclosed in darkness again. In this small space, Rukia could smell Ichigo's scent surrounding her more strongly. In its own way, it eased her somewhat.

She only wished she could turn down the volume of voices in her head that were beginning to fray the edges of her sanity. The mortal world was proving to be more frightening than she could have ever guessed.

As soon as consciousness left, she dreamed of Ichigo. An Ichigo with black hair and glowing cerulean eyes . . . .

**

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**

SOMEWHERE ON EARTH

On a cliff, overlooking the wild currents of the ocean waves crashing against the rock wall below, stood a tall white long haired man. He didn't react when he felt another presence behind him, especially when he heard the flapping wings quickly drawn in.

"You called for me?" He addressed the visitor behind him absently, while staring calmly at the drifting currents reminiscing on the past.

"_What do you make of this?"_ Said the cold commanding voice behind him.

Dragging his eyes from the sea, which Kaien had loved so much, he turned around to look at what was handed to him; only to gasp in shock at what was revealed before his disbelieving eyes.

Hands trembling, he reached out to grasp for the small scrap of incandescent white cloth. Closing his eyes, he withdrew and focused his senses looking for something. Yes, it was there. It was very faint and extremely old, but there was a trace. And no doubt about it, it was one he recognized.

His expression must have confirmed an unspoken question because his visitor simply smiled darkly in triumph and retrieved the small scrap from nerveless fingers. With all the eloquence of nobility, he elegantly turned around to leave.

Before he left, he paused; throwing one parting shot over his shoulder.

"Do not think to stand in my way. The path of vengeance lies before me within my grasp for the first time."

He remained frozen in shock unable to string two words together, much less interrogate the demon in detail.

With the sounds of the waves crashing against the below rocks echoing in the air, Ukitake silently watched as Byakuya, the Demon Enforcer, flew away.

**

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**

A/N:

I hope you weren't bored that there wasn't any IchiRuki interaction for a second chapter in a row. There may be 5 or more chapters left in this story, maybe more depending on how much smut I want added to it.

Please review and let me know what you thought of the latest chapter or if you found any glaring grammatical errors.

**FYI:** '_Snaffle'_ is an old pirate's term for purloin or steal. '_Grifting'_ basically means con game, scam, or anything that results in unfairly evening the odds. If anyone is ever confused by a phrase or wording, feel free to ask me.

**Next Chapter:** IchiRuki smut to look forward to after my convalescence. Most of it is already written (4000 words) and it's still not finished--I may have to split it into 2 chapters. I have to say it'll be a steamy one, worthy of the MA rating.

**PROMO:** For those with prurient interests in smut and who liked my Reunion short story, I've got another one shot coming out soon. It was influenced by the beach opening credits of the Bleach Amagi arc. Be on the look out for that sometime today, possibly in the evening. It's tentatively titled, "**_The Photo Shoot_**." Its definitely IchiRuki and leans more towards erotica. I've completed it already, but I'm still running some last minute edits on it.

I'll be on hiatus for about a week, hopefully the cortisone shots will alleviate the pain to a tolerable level.

As always, a big special thanks to all those who have reviewed, marked this story as favorite, or added it to their alerts list. It does the heart good to know this genre and my writing has an audience. I really appreciate it.

_Fathom_


	14. Chapter 14: Awaken Me Sweetly

**Title: **_**Dream of Me**_

**Chapter 14: Awaken Me Sweetly**

**

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**

NAGANO

The shadows in the room lengthened, revealing two menacing cloaked figures standing over a sleeping figure.

"The world of the living is such a bore."

"I told you I could do this alone. You were the one who wanted to come along, Yammy."

"Whatever. Ulquiorra, is this the one?"

"Take a look, idiot. He's nothing but garbage. However, we are close, she was here. His soul has been bartered."

"So can I kill him?" Yammy enthusiastically asked, leering at the human in anticipation for some blood sport.

Eyeing the oblivious mortal, he briefly considered allowing Yammy to take out the mortal trash prematurely before his time. Ultimately, he decided that the delay might prove to be too crucial and hinder their endeavors.

"No, Yammy. The night is still early yet, and our prey is near."

Stepping back deeper into the shadows, the only sign left of their prior presence was a slight acrid smell of smoke.

-0-0-0-0-

Secure in the knowledge that the intruders were not returning, the concealed watcher stepped out from the large shadow in the corner of the room. The wings along his back bristled in displeasure.

_It appeared he wasn't the only one on the hunt._

**

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**

RUKIA'S DREAMSCAPE

_Darkness._

_She couldn't breathe; the inky black void was suffocating._

_And then something pierced the endless black space. A figure in the distance . . . ._

_Bad energy._

_No amount of distance could out run the evil vibes that the figure emitted. Fear like she had never encountered swept through her._

_Malice radiated from the figure's outline, from every blurred, indistinct feature. At first glance, it appeared humanoid, statuesquely perfect—but the image shifted the more she stared at it. Malevolence shaped its unclear grotesque features creating a monster unlike she had ever seen the likes of._

_Suddenly, a wraithlike touch slid over her skin, hot and burning and absolutely unwelcome. The horrible touch dug into her being, scraping against the center of her existence. Something awful was slithering over her and through her. She tried to twist away from it, tried to cry out for help. But to no avail, escape and rescue were nigh impossible._

_She couldn't breathe at all. Panic surged through her body even as the touch sucked away her energy, her essence, and her very core of being. _

_The babble of voices reverberating through her mind were like pin needles stabbing through every conscious thought._

_Out of all those voices, one screaming voice stood out. It was definitely gleeful. Almost rabid. Starving and hungry._

_That creeping, slithering cold gripped her again._

_Stalking. Yes. It was stalking her and drawing ever closer and closer to her. _

_It was coming soon._

_Rukia could barely breathe in the face of so much terror._

**

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**

KARAKURA

"Thanks for the ride, Chad." Ichigo called out to Chad before shutting the car door.

It was already dark outside, and he was dead tired from trying to piece together all the evidence, ME autopsy reports, and calling in to the other local police districts with the same MO as the Karakura homicide.

He shuddered in memory at the chaos that ensued after bringing the bad tidings to Captain Kenpatchi. The captain was head of the SWAT and Gang control unit. His rage had his own officers trying to unsuccessfully tackle him down to the floor to limit the destruction that ensued. Nevertheless, the case had just become personal because of one their own was connected. Although, how Kenpatchi and Yachiru were related was a mystery. They didn't appear to be blood relatives.

Carrying the box of hot food up the stairs to the apartment, he was looking forward to seeing Rukia again, and hoped that nothing untoward had happened while she was staying there. However, the closer he got to his door; he began to feel an edgy dread. A dread that didn't subside; especially, when he opened his front door to see his apartment as pitch dark as a tomb.

Pulling out his police issue revolver and flipping its safety latch, he switched on the lights with his opposite hand. His calls out to Rukia were met with loud silence. Quickly scanning the living room, kitchen, and bathroom he saw no evidence of foul play.

Taking a deep breath, he stood to the side of his partially open bedroom door. Carefully nudging the door open further with his foot, he pointed his gun in a quick scan of the room. Seeing no visible danger, he promptly switched on the light, banishing all the ominous dark shadows cast in the room.

At finding an empty room, Ichigo's anxiety began to rise. Just as he was wondering if the entire last night and this morning was a stress induced waking dream, he heard a slight catch of pained breath from somewhere in the room. Pinpointing the source of the noise from the closet, he walked to the side of the closet and shoved the door open. Quickly pointing his gun at the unknown intruder, he froze in surprise.

"Rukia?" Ichigo called out softly to the unconscious Incubus.

For some unknown reason, Rukia was lying on top of the extra bedding inside his closet. However, the temperature in the closet felt like a freezer. Frost and icicles were formed all over her body, so that her body looked cocooned in partial ice.

Reacting instantly, Ichigo placed his gun back into its leather shoulder holster, and checked her pulse. Dread filled him until he caught a faint trace of a heartbeat stuttering unrhythmically. Quickly reaching inside the closet, he gently hauled her into his arms. Carrying her close to his chest, he walked to the bed and sat down on its side with her petite body cradled on his lap.

Rukia was like a block of ice. The shirt he had lent her, crackled with sheets of ice. Rapidly drawing the shirt over her head and off of her, he rubbed his hands up and down her arms and back, but that small bit of warm friction was met with little success. Her breathing was so shallow that he was afraid he was loosing her. His line of thought paused, when his eyes fell on the still open box of injections by the bed.

_It couldn't hurt. _There was not enough time to call his father or get her to a hospital. She was fading fast and he was beginning to panic.

Leaning over her, he grabbed another syringe and insulin bottle. Promptly withdrawing the chemical into the needle, he injected Rukia's arm. Remembering the convulsions the medicine had reduced her to the last time, he hurriedly placed her under the bed covers. Rapidly slipping his shoulder holser off, he continued unbuttoning his shirt. Then proceeded to unbuckle and unzip his slacks. Afterwards, he tugged his shirt off, kicked off his shoes, slacks and socks. Leaving just his boxers on, he crawled under the bed covers with her.

Ichigo was just in time before the convulsions started. He pinned Rukia's wrists down, and threw a leg over to pin her lower half as she started to uncontrollably twist and contort under him. He leaned as much as his body over her without crushing her so that she could share his body heat—ignoring the hard little nipples drilling holes in his chest. _Now was not the time, he told his reawakened cock. _

The mysterious substance must have worked on her once again because he could feel her begin to thaw subtlety, while thankfully her heart beat began its regular pacing. Riding out her convulsions with her unconsciously straining to get free of her imprisonment was an exercise in supreme control. With her constant shudders, struggling, and arching of her breasts and hips against his, his body was literally on fire with the impulse to just spread her legs open to feel how her inner muscles would spasm around his invading cock.

Luckily, this time her reaction did not last as long as the last one did, and soon the muscles in her petite body slackened without resistance. She collapsed back onto the bed with an audible sigh. Now that the danger of her hurting herself was over, he released her wrists and ran comforting hands along her arms and legs, trying to remove the last vestiges of the ice cold aura surrounding her limbs.

When he saw Rukia on the verge of waking up, he leaned over her unable to resist brushing her cool lips softly with his own. As she slowly returned to consciousness, her lips softened and melded with his. Swiping his tongue in between her lips and running over the grooves and ridges of her teeth, he patiently waited for permission to enter.

When her incredibly long eye lashes fluttered open and closed against his cheekbone, he felt her lips give way for his marauding tongue. Gently, he slid his tongue in to canvas every nook and cranny in her mouth, and then searched for her own wet appendage in soft caressing strokes. Tilting his head for better access, Ichigo slid his tongue in out and out of her mouth tenderly; mimicking what his lower body was yearning to carry out for real. It was like a slow facile fuck, as he lazily glided in and out.

God, how he loved kissing her. Her silky skin, her taste, and her texture was so incredibly toe-curling arousing. Kissing her was like an addictive aphrodisiac that he couldn't get enough of.

As he felt her body return fully back to its normal cool temperature, he pulled away after tugging on her lush lower lip with his teeth reluctant to withdraw completely. After releasing her lip, he swiped at it in sensual apology with this tongue.

Intensely possessive eyes watched her as her eyes dazedly opened as if she was just waking from a drug induced stupor.

"Are you alright, Rukia?" Ichigo questioned softly in concern.

When her eyes remained unfocused, he chuckled and tenderly brushed that stubborn bang down her face to the side with one index finger. He cupped her face with the same hand and gently caressed her lips and cheekbone with his thumb.

Rukia blinked in confusion around her, clearing out the last vestiges of desire from her mind. Remnants of her former dream vision tugged at her consciousness, but the dark energy had evaporated with the onslaught of Ichigo's kiss. _A kiss. Who would have thought that a simple kiss would bring her back from the edge of despair and hopelessness?_

Rukia's heartbeat eased back to normal as the room shifted into focus. Her senses were slowly but surely coming back from Ichigo's overpowering seductively drugging kisses. Unfortunately, as her reality shifted and cleared, she became aware of the insufferable mortal smirking down at her. He appeared so exalted over his seduction over her that a seed of annoyance grew within her at his overbearing confidence.

While she stared at those intense amber eyes, something glowing faintly from the corner of her eyes drew her attention. She gasped as she turned her head to gape fully at the glowing mark on Ichigo's forearm; anger unlike any she had ever experience before, rose to the fore. It was like a seething cauldron ready to bubble over.

Without warning and unable to temper her rising disgust and hatred, Rukia whacked him across the head with one open hand; all the while scrambling out from under him cursing a blue streak.

"_I should have known. You're nothing, but a no good dirty rotten necromancing son of a bitch!"_

**

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**

A/N:

**ME**: Medical Examiner

**M.O.: **Abbreviation for "modus operandi," Latin for method of operation. Its a pattern of behavior, which is typical of how a particular offender commits a specific type of crime.

My chapter became too long so I ended up splitting it up in 3-4 chapters. Sorry to disappoint those of you waiting for the smut, if you want pure smut go read my "_**Photo Shoot"**_ one-shot. I hope things are getting clearer as I start connecting events and characters. At this point, all events frame the groundwork for the coming conclusion, and everything revolves around one specific central character.

Please review and let me know what you thought of the latest chapter.

**Next 2 Chapters: **Ichigo's mark is explained . . . after he persuasively and erotically tortures it out of a recalcitrant Rukia. Dominating pervy Ichigo . . . . This will span 2 chapters because the torture kind of ran enjoyably longer than I originally planned, and all the dialogue made the chapter too lengthy. By the way, the upcoming erotic interlude is not the steamy smut I hinted at previously either, so that will be following directly after these next 2 chapters.

Thanks goes to everyone who has taken the time to review.

And if you're wondering, no, there were only very slight improvements with the injections. Surgery looks like a grim possibility. For the young out there, don't choose an office job career that requires a lot of computer usage. I'm hoping to end this story soon to take an extended break.


	15. Chapter 15: Tortured Bliss

**Title: **_**Dream of Me**_

**__**

Chapter 15: Tortured Bliss

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****KARAKURA: ICHIGO'S BEDROOM**

"_I should have known. You're nothing, but a no good dirty rotten necromancing son of a bitch!"_

"Yeoww! That hurt, you freaking pint sized pip-squeak!" Ichigo yelped in complaint, his ears were still ringing from her powerful blow.

Before Rukia could escape from the bed completely, he tossed his arm over her slender waist and dragged her kicking and screaming backward.

"Let go of me, you twice-damned strawberry hedgehog!" Rukia screamed venomously as she fought to free herself from the shackle at her waist.

Miffed at her latest insult, Ichigo tightened his hold on the infuriated petite ball of fury. He was about to respond scathingly, when one of her elbows landed unerringly onto his exposed gut. A soft "whuff" escaped his surprised mouth, and his arms momentarily slackened.

Taking advantage of his lax grip; she wrenched herself from his nefarious dark clutches.

Her chances of outdistancing him were slim, and getting out of the apartment unlikely. Still, she had to try. She ran towards the exit, hurling herself towards freedom.

Rukia was almost through the open bedroom door, running stark naked from the horrid human in the room when she felt something tackle her hard from behind. Ichigo's weight had hit her in the back, overwhelming her, driving her down to the ground and crushing her beneath him. She reflexively threw out her hands to break her fall, but still she landed heavily. Stunned, she lay helplessly beneath him; until she got her bearings again and resumed struggling against the hard male body pinning her to the floor. Fighting with every last breath in her body; but he was so heavy she could barely breathe, and so big that he surrounded her.

He didn't' react immediately, and didn't lift his heavy weight from her. All she could feel was him, his scorching hot body sprawled on top of hers, his toned-muscled limbs hindering her. She could feel his chiseled chest move with his controlled breathing; feel the strong healthy thudding of his heartbeat against her back.

Completely riled, Ichigo had leapt across the room to prevent her from running ass naked out of the apartment. He felt a little guilty for using his brute strength on her, but he wanted an explanation as to why she had gone insanely ballistic on him. However, the longer he pinned her to the floor, the more his body acclimated to the soft silky feel of her skin, the contours of her curves, and the lushness of her tiny body.

There was something to be said about the caveman method of chasing down a woman that got all those masculine aggressive chromosomes running rampant. All his animal instincts had fired up while he was sprawled on top of her. The riptide of lust that seized his body now went beyond the force of any prior relationships he had ever had, smashing through his defensives as if they had never existed, sweeping everything away in the sudden, blindingly intense need for . . . _Rukia_.

The urge to just spread her knees wide open and take her from behind like the animal he was reverting into had his cock pulsating in unbearable hunger. Her twisting and writhing hips were not helping the matter much either, as every struggling movement against that wonderfully curvy tight ass sent shards of pleasure spearing through him. His hips lifted before he could catch himself, and instinctively pushed against her; grinding his rigid cock into her ass hard. Of course, the angry hell cat beneath him was oblivious to his internal fight to avail himself what his body was screaming was his for the taking.

Winning the battle with his conscious—barely by the skin of his teeth, he slowly lifted himself up. Keeping one knee pinned on Rukia's lower back to keep her from jumping up and bailing out on him again. He was breathing hard in aggression as he stood his sexually protesting body up fully and hauled Rukia by the waist to toss over one shoulder. She continued to curse at him while harmlessly beating his back with her small fists.

Ignoring her barrage of virulent epithets—which were surprising archaic in some instances, he walked back to the bed and tossed her back down in the center of his bed. Before she could spring back up to flee, he put a stop to her small bout of rebellion with one sure motion of his body as he eased himself down upon her.

She tried to pull away, but his large body made escape unattainable. All the same, Rukia was able to score a couple of vicious hits to his head and upper body before he could capture her wrists and pin them harmlessly above her head.

She tried to turn away, but her captured hands were braced next to her head too tightly. She meant to hold out, but all at once a strange expression flitted across his features. He suddenly looked hungry and covetous—as if she in her innocence possessed some kind of treat he'd never tasted before. Fear as tangible as the blood in her veins pumped wildly through her body. He wanted her. And he proved it with his next action.

"Don't you dare, you misbegotten cur . . . mphh." Rukia started a new round of insults before she was unceremoniously cut off.

Swiftly leaning down closer to her, Ichigo had seized control of her mouth and worked off some of his mental and sexual frustration. He ravaged her mouth hungrily, stopping the new string of curses coming out of her mouth.

At first she tried to pull away, and when that didn't work—she tried biting his tongue. But his deepening kiss made any rebellious movement impractical. Time stopped when his mouth hungrily drank from hers, and once he had them, he refused to relinquish her no matter how hard she tried to pull away from him. He kissed her as if he had all the time in the world, hungry for her lips, and hungry for her soul.

Rukia's heartbeat was increasing exponentially, it felt like it was about to burst out of her chest any moment. And then she felt it. That slow soul sucking feeling that sank deep through her, traveling from her head to her toes. Unwillingly, she felt herself responding, her fighting instincts disolving. Her belly grew taut and her nether regions melted and pulsed. His mouth seemed to pull at her soul. With one kiss he meant to punish her, free her, and enslave her all the same time. Desire clawed at her, hot and sharp. A low moan slipped past her lips, a husky, helpless sound of want and need.

At hearing her moan, Ichigo continued kissing her momentarily before he reluctantly pulled away slightly to study her with heated eyes, hoping that she had calmed down enough to talk sensibly to him.

But after a second or two, Rukia just shook her head to remove any lingering emotional cobwebs and tried to unsuccessfully head-butt him.

Switching one hand to keep both her hands pinned, he slid his free hand around her neck, under her hair, behind her head, and gently grasped her hair to keep her head immobile. Anger highlighted her every feature before she mulishly pressed her lips together and refused to look at him in obstinate silence. When he noted her unyielding posture, his annoyance only seemed to increase. At his wits end with her defiant recalcitrant behavior, he leaned down to one soft delicate shell of her ear and whispered in a low and huskily voice. His hot breath stirred her hair.

"We can do this easy way, and you can talk freely without coercion. Or we can do it the hard way, and I'll make you beg me in your desire to explain everything I want to know."

At the softly growled word of "_hard way,_" he had pried her knees open with his own, and unapologetically took up residence between them with his lower body. And at the "_beg me_" part of his speech, he had rotated his hips against the apex of her thighs in emphasis.

"So what's its going to be?" Ichigo lazily asked in her ear, before he hedonistically rubbed his still clothed cock against her opening and nipped erotically at her tender lobe.

Rukia's response was a simple "humph" in disgust before continuing to look at the far wall completely ignoring his threat in disinterest.

Smirking darkly, Ichigo responded. "I'm glad you chose choice 2 because I'm going to enjoy this so much more."

Excruciatingly slow, he drew the edge of his teeth up the side of one delicate swan neck. Other than a slight trembling in her imprisoned hands which she stilled right away, Rukia remained impassively impervious.

Up for the challenge, he released the hand holding her hair. Then he ran his free hand lightly over one plump breast; palming it and its turgid nipple briefly, before sliding it down to a lower destination. Once he reached those luscious denuded lips; he searched for her small, exquisitely firm nub, pushing back the protective hood of flesh and exposing her to the rasp of his callused fingertips.

Desire pooled deep in her belly, between her legs, and her breasts tightened. However, Rukia remained mutinous in her resolve to display no weakness.

Knowing fingers withdrew after the brief caress, dragging though her swollen folds to find and stroke the entrance of her body. He circled her soft opening with one finger, spreading the building moisture but not quite probing inside even though he could feel the convulsive clench of her loins.

Rukia's body jolted in shock once, but otherwise remained casually unperturbed. Her violet eyes revealed nothing, and her face remained steadfastly stoic. However, her breaths were coming out in soft controlled and even pants. Knowing he was close to pushing her over the edge, he decided on a different tactic.

Ichigo moved lower and the velvet of his tongue terraced one tight berry bud, the orange tresses of his hair gently feathering across her chest in stark contrast to the smooth ivory flesh beneath him. He swirled his tongue around the nipple before drawing it completely in his mouth and rhythmically sucking strongly at it.

Still not showing any visible signs of reaction to his gentle torture other than a slightly clenched jaw, he nipped hard at her nipple. She gasped slightly and unconsciously tried to flinch away. Nevertheless the damage had been done. A rush of juices now coated his curiously wandering fingers in between her legs. Running his thumb over her hard clit, he stroked his index and middle finger up and down her slit.

Rukia's soft lower lips were opening up in invitation. Accepting the invite, he unhurriedly dipped his middle finger shallowly inside that succulent wet sheathe while he ran kisses over her abused nipple. Ichigo smiled softly in triumph when could feel her heartbeat speeding up as he entered. With no voice of complaint at his invading fingers, he joined it with his index finger, and then thrust deep inside. Once inside her, he hooked his fingers and gently scraped against that overly sensitive erogenous zone. His efforts were rewarded with a fresh wave of wetness and an audible drawn in breath.

"Damn you," she whispered in the silence, almost weeping.

Rukia's breasts had hardened in painful need of his touch, her loins moistened and clenched, aching with desire and frustration and emptiness. She squeezed her eyelids tightly shut as she struggled with the abrupt, startling exposure and vulnerability of her sex. Her loins pulsed, throbbing as she waited in paralyzed agony for this terrible need to be eased.

Ichigo looked down towards her now clenched eyes, and taunted languidly back into her ear.

"Had enough yet? You're body's going to be all riled up, but I won't let you climax. You'll be begging for release." His deep voice was little more than a murmur.

"In your dreams, you strawberry idiot." Rukia growled out through gritted teeth, cling to that last bit of wall of bravado with her fingertips.

He laughed softly out loud, the soft sound totally male and self-confident.

Before she could think straight enough to escape; he quickly released the hand holding her wrists, and his head dipped south of her. Rukia froze in shock when she felt something soft and wet glide up her slit, around the area clenched around his intruding fingers, and then trail towards that hard little nubbin of flesh she had never knew existed. With his tongue he circled it once, twice, and . . . .

A soft uncontrollable cry exploded from her, and her hips writhed. Rukia quivered, fear and desire twisting sharply together until she couldn't separate them. Panic began to tighten her stomach. She fought back her rising hysteria, not liking this out of control feeling. Running her fingers through his orange tresses she tried to tug Ichigo's head away with clenched fists. But he ignored her struggles and sucked harder on that little knot of desire, while continuing to thrust his fingers deeply in and out of her. When he used his lips and teeth to tug at her clit, she unconsciously arched her hips and pulled his head closer in defeat.

Unable to take the sensory overload anymore, she literally waved the white flag in surrender and gasped out, "No more, stop it."

"_Please_," she choked out, despising him as she had never despised anyone.

Despite hearing her surrender, Ichigo withdrew his penetrating fingers only to replace it immediately with a penetrating and thrusting tongue.

Shudders raked her from head to toe. Her clenched hands on his head fell away to fist handfuls of sheeting on either side of her hips, while her hips instinctively arched up in pursuit of prolonging the sweet addicting torture.

After another softly pleading, "_please stop_," Ichigo licked up any last stray drop around her slit, kissed her clit in silent farewell, and then reluctantly pulled away. He came back up to cover her completely with his body, leaning his forehead against her own—willing the heat in his own body to die down so he could remember the original purpose of his . . . dare he say _persuasive interrogative skills_.

"Now talk. Why were you so angry?" Ichigo growled out huskily once he finished counting random things in his head to take his mind off the immediate problem in his near to bursting cock.

After swallowing the dry knot in her parched mouth, she sighed in resignation and muttered in sore defeat, "loathsome vile vermin" under her breath when her mental faculties were clear of the desire clouding her thought process again.

Raising one eyebrow, he commented back sarcastically, "Not so loathsome that it prevented you from drenching my fingers with your arousal."

Flushing slightly at the reminder of her ignoble surrender, she ignored his taunt and gritted out, "You're crushing me, you overbearing orange-headed baboon. I said I would talk. So release me."

"And have you make a run for it in a fit of pique again? Not on my watch, midget." Ichigo responded with narrowed suspicious eyes.

Nevertheless, he did relent to a degree and the world spun dizzyingly when he rolled the both of them over on the bed. Now, she found herself dismayingly sitting lightly astride his lower abs with his stiff _man-thing_ resting under her loins. Conscious of her exposure, she tried to hurriedly dismount in chagrined indignation. But he tightened his hands warningly over her thighs halting any further movement. The more time passed through the night, she was uncomfortably aware that if he wished to kiss her or do anything else to her, her defenses were very weak indeed.

"Now, spit it out. What lit a fire under your skirt?" Ichigo asked in a serious hard voice. His voice may have been serious, but his eyes were having a field day just enjoying the frontal view of a naked Rukia sitting on him. Not to mention, each shift she unconsciously did, rubbed tantalizingly along his erect shaft.

"I'm not wearing a skirt, you uncouth barbarian—who uses every opportunity to undress me." Rukia sniped back, uncomfortably aware of every breath that Ichigo made was rubbing against that mysteriously pleasurable place between her legs. She scowled at him for making her submit so mortifyingly easy and quickly.

"You know what I meant. Why were you in such a tizzy when you woke up? And why the hell were you incased in ice when I found you?" Demanded an incensed Ichigo, who was struggling to keep his mind on the conversation at hand; and not on those beautiful pert breasts that were literally begging him to kiss and cradle them in his hands as she bristled in indignation.

"I don't know what you mean by the ice. As for the other . . . how can you not know? _Necromancers and demons are mortal enemies."_ She replied, eyeing him in disgusted distaste like a bug that had been squashed under her heel.

"What does that have to do with me?" Ichigo absently asked, not quite appreciating the current look she was directing towards him. It edged his masculine ego into wanting to yank her head down and crush her mouth with his to replace her expression with one of his choosing.

Rolling her eyes at his oblivious ignorance, she quickly tugged his hand from her thigh and flipped it over to reveal his branded forearm.

"_**You . . . are . . . a . . .** **necromancer, idiot**."_ Rukia said slowly as she enunciated each word carefully, as if pointing out the sky was blue to the blithering idiot beneath her.

"_Huh? What the fuck is a necromancer?"_ Ichigo dumbly asked after gaping openly at Rukia in baffled shock, all thoughts of sex literally getting thrown out the window temporarily.

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A/N:

Arggh. Roughly 3k words of pure IchiRuki, my longest chapter in this story to date.

This chapter has given me a lot of grief. Originally, this whole chapter was summed up in a couple of lines. But then I thought, maybe I could expand it just a little with a little fluff. Fluff soon gave way to smut. From a couple of paragraphs it started to jump to 1k words, and then another 1k. So this is the culprit that made me split up the last chapter and the next chapter into 3 separate ones. That is why, not much is happening, because this smut took up too much of the verbiage. Then at 2k, I thought it was done and had it loaded on FF waiting for publishing. When I reviewed it one last time, I didn't like it. So I tore it apart, tweaked it some more, and it grew to 3k. I'm still not exactly happy with it, mostly because I've gotten so tired of editing it that I stopped making changes before the ending. I could probably easily add another 1k of smut to it, but then it would keep dragging on endlessly with no point. I'll save plotless smut for one-shots. But its a sad commentary to have smut literally flow easier creatively storywise than simple fluff. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. I seem to be too jaded for fluff.

Anyways, what did you all think of Ichigo's ahem . . . _persuasive interrogative skills_? Drop me a review and let me know.

And yes, Ichigo is completely OOC, but there's something about a dominating man that gets the fantasies rolling. So that's a running theme in all my stories. I will however, be slowly reeling Rukia in to be more IC.

Now, don't kill me, but I pushed myself writing chapter 14, 15, and part of the next one. I shouldn't have attempted to write 6k words in one sitting after still recovering a scant 5 days after my injections. I seriously tweaked my wrists and arms again, so I won't be releasing my next chapter until maybe next week if not later. Dialogue is not my strong suit, and a whole chapter of mostly explanations and dialogue is going to take me some time to formulate so that it doesn't read out like a dry encyclopedia. What's worse is that I'll be off-site training the whole week, with my boss and several other coworkers. I won't be able to work on any writing during the day. Wouldn't want my boss catching me writing this type of stuff during _paid_ daylight _work_ hours.

**Next Chapter:** The mystery of the mark is mostly resovled, really I swear, with full diagrams to boot--Chappy style of course! What is a necromancer? Rukia's explanation may provide a clue to Ichigo's current investigation.

Special thanks to those of you who have reviewed and welcome to all the new readers who have added me to their alerts and favorites.

Fathom


	16. Chapter 16: 'Till Death Do Us Part?

**Title: **_**Dream of Me**_

**Chapter 16: In Sickness & Health, 'Til Death Do Us Part?**

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**KARAKURA: ICHIGO'S BEDROOM**

"_Huh? What the fuck is a necromancer?"_

Rukia looked askance at Ichigo's play of ignorance in distrust, and nodded her chin towards his marked arm in explanation.

Glancing down at his own arm in surprise, he exclaimed, "What? I don't know how I got that, it happened last night when I tried to save you in my dream. So what's a necromancer? And why do you think I am one."

Closing her eyes in a bid for patience, she wondered to herself how she got stuck with such an uncouth and stupid plebian of a mortal. Besides, what was he "_saving_" her from? She was simply going home. _Idiot._

While Ichigo was still staring at his own arm hoping it would conjure him all the answers to his unspoken questions in his head; Rukia swiftly jumped off of Ichigo and the bed before he could protest. His muscles tensed in preparation for another chase, but when she simply walked to his desk and rifled through the drawers he relaxed and followed her with his eyes intently.

Apparently, finding what she was looking for, she grabbed a sheaf of papers and a variety of colored markers. Carrying her booty in her hands, she returned to the bed, only to have him silently grab her by the waist and return her back onto his lap in her previous position astride him.

Rukia sighed audibly in disgruntled defeat; however, she didn't voice any complaints or protest her seating arrangement. Obviously, his _man-thing _still hadn't calmed down in her absence. She briefly wondered if he substituted as a male gigolo during the day, because as far she knew she had never seen that part of him in any other state other than hard and erect. That was true in the dream world as well. It would explain his expertise in his handling of her. Somehow his experience with other partners bothered her, but eyeing his impatient features she pushed that line of thought to the furthest recess of her mind and concentrated on the discussion at hand.

Laying the bundle of blank paper on his chest, she used his chest as a flat surface to sketch something that he couldn't quite make out from his laid back angle. After finishing the drawing with one last flourish of her marker, she proudly handed it to him to view. Rukia took a deep breath and began lecturing like a schoolmarm despite her nakedness and close proximity to her specie's mortal enemy.

"A necromancer is a mortal who has the power to summon and bind demons against their will through their powers, rituals, and symbols. Any questions so far?" Rukia continued speaking in a no-nonsense tone, while Ichigo stared in deep thought over her mysterious artistic skills.

Holding the paper above his face, he studied the picture that was hastily drawn on it with suspended disbelief. On it was a cartoonish caricature depicting a weeping bunny rabbit with gargoyle like wings inside an encircled pentagram; it was kneeling with chains manacled to its neck, wrists, and ankles. Outside of the circle stood a raccoon/badger looking tanuki with an evil leer pointing towards the defenseless and helpless rabbit. There were evil lightning vibes surrounding the tanuki.

"Hmmmm . . . Why does your drawing suck so bad? It looks like something a preschooler would draw." He said distractedly, only half processing what she was explaining.

Not noticing the dangerous narrowed eyed look of anger directed towards him for his caustic remark; Ichigo remained staring distractedly at the badly drawn depictions. Absently, he took note of something feathering lightly across his bare chest and abdomen in a non-sexual way. The quick snap of a re-capped marker lid brought him back from his rambling thoughts and made him lower the drawing before him. The slight smell of markers made him wrinkle his nose in distaste. He was about to comment on something when he noticed Rukia smirking at his chest. Jerking the so called art work completely aside so that he wasn't peering over the top of the paper any longer, he finally noticed the lines on his bare chest in offended masculine outrage. At some point, Rukia had quickly sketched a tanuki with a curling mustache directly onto his bare chest replete with stinky vibes.

"What the . . . ?! You took advantage of my distraction!" Ichigo roared at her in righteous fury. Luckily, he was able to successfully scrub the washable ink off his chest with the heel of one hand until it was all gone, leaving his skin red and raw where he rubbed too hard.

"Let us continue, after a necromancer binds a demon, a mark will be set either on an object or on the necromancer's body. Usually, a necromancer will prefer the mark to be set on his own body to minimize the chance of someone else seizing the object and controlling the demon against the original necromancer summoner. . . ." Rukia droned on off-handedly as if nothing had occurred, until Ichigo rudely cut her off—pushing his small snit of a tantrum to the side for the moment, he was thankful she hadn't used permanent markers at least—when what she was saying finally sunk into his brain.

"Wait! This mark . . . . You're saying I summoned and bound a demon? What demon did I bind?" He asked in pure puzzlement.

Rukia's eyes narrowed further at his imbecilic obtuseness, she couldn't resist slapping at his bare chest in irritated disdain. She felt only partially satisfied, when he yelped in response.

"Ow, stop that. What was that for?" Ichigo whined boyishly with a scowl.

"What other demon do you know?" Rukia asked through gritted teeth, seething at the moronic human.

"Well let me see . . . . I always thought they were part of my imagination, but . . . ." He began to answer out loud in serious thought as he analyzed her question earnestly.

This time she leaned over and smacked him upside the head to stop his asinine musings.

"What do you think I am?" She growled, drumming her fingers impatiently against his chest.

"Well, you're Rukia. _My Rukia._" Ichigo growled back with a scowl, completely missing the point. He answered as if what she had asked was completely preposterous to even consider another answer.

Rukia clenched her fists in fury, giving up completely on waiting for the silly mortal to come up with a half-way _reasonable_ and _logical_ answer. _My Rukia_, she thought in disgust. _In your dreams, you harebrained strawberry! _As much as she hated his claim of ownership of her, her heartbeat sped at his absurd proclamation. It had to be from anger, because surely her heart wouldn't race at someone laying claim to her for the first time in her life. The only decent answer was that these foreign feelings were due to her frustration and anger towards him. Yes that was it, she convinced herself mentally.

"Argh. You're completely missing the point. Before you nipped my wings, I was an Oneroi demon."

"Um, you're not implying . . . .?" he started to state the obvious, but his voice trailed off completely at the sudden realization.

"You idiot! Get it through your thick skull, you bound me!" Rukia exclaimed in impatience.

Dumbfounded with his mouth gaping wide open in shock, he looked at her in baffled confusion. "B-but . . . ah . . . how would I do that?"

Rukia scrutinized his face, judging the truth and sincerity of his features. Look as much as she could, she could find no shred of dishonesty in him. Not completely trusting him however, she asked him in a disbelieving skeptical tone, "You really don't know how you did it?"

She frowned when he muttered a "hell, no."

"That's not possible," murmured Rukia under her breath.

"Explain it to me please, Rukia?" Ichigo asked in earnest appeal, like a child begging for treats.

"Why would I instruct an enemy on how to enslave my kind?" she asked seriously.

"Well if I promise not to use what you to tell me for ill deeds, will you tell me?"

After one hesitating silent moment while she debated, she sighed in defeat. Like it or not, she was stuck. And getting unstuck would be dependent upon him. Despite her inner turmoil about helping her enemy; an uninformed Ichigo might end up causing more harm and grief in the end. With that in mind, she grabbed a clean sheet and quickly sketched another picture. Finishing up one sheet, she quickly drew another page and then another, until she was satisfied she had enough drawn pages.

Pulling out her next drawing, she held it up so that he could see it clearly. This time, there was some sort of altar table with a helpless rabbit chained to the table in everyday human street clothes. While the evil tanuki held some sort of ceremonial dagger above the prostate sacrifice.

In the center of the encircled pentagram this time, stood a winged rabbit holding some sort of scroll as if offering a signed contract.

"There are many levels to summoning and binding. I'll go through 4 of the most common ones. The first level is an actual sacrifice and barter method with a demon. If the demon accepts, he will provide temporary service for a specific task. This is usually only if the mortal is able to offer something in return. This is an iron bound contract. In fact, this is one of the Oneroi jobs, we accept the bartering of one's soul for personal gain, desire, and happiness."

The next drawing depicted a bundle of carrots lying in the middle of an encircled pentagram while the winged rabbit eyed the carrots hungrily.

"The second method is if a necromancer captures a demon by trapping it. This is only a temporary imprisonment however; control is severely limited in scope. And needless to say the demon will have its revenge once it's freed. "

The third drawing displayed a winged rabbit with one side of its face whiskers missing. In the raised hand of the evil looking tanuki, were the missing whiskers.

"The third level of summoning is if the necromancer owns some part of the demon, be it object, blood, or body part. This level of entrapment is often straining on the necromancer as it is difficult to control the will of a demon despite partially enslaving it.

The last drawing portrayed a sad winged bunny rabbit with an equal symbol and arrow pointing directly to a sad looking panda bear wearing the same outfit as the rabbit. But there were chains literally hanging from its chest to the tanuki's wrist in a sort of leash.

"The fourth level of summoning is if the necromancer knows the real name of the demon. With this level, the necromancer can summon and bind a specific demon into any object or shape of his will."

"I still don't believe any of this, but what level of binding do I supposedly have on you?"

Staring at his arm visible fear and revulsion, she replied hesitantly, "You're mark is extremely complicated, and I've never seen or heard of its like before."

"I sense a '_but'_ here, what is it you're not telling me?" Ichigo asked in hesitation, leery of her answer.

Chewing her lips red briefly, she reluctantly responded, "Your mark is a combination of the fourth level of binding and something more. In almost all cases of binding, if the necromancer dies before passing the demon's enslaving power onto someone else, the demon will be released. However, the mark on your arm indicates that you tied my soul to yours. If you die—whether it be by death, accident, sickness, or old age—I will die the instant your life ceases to be . . . ." Rukia paused in dramatic emphasis before continuing on.

"_Vice versa, if I die, you will too. Unless you know how to undo what you have done, our chain of fate has been irrevocably welded to each other. Even in death, our souls will remain eternally entwined."_

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A/N:

Sorry about the delay. All the dialogue got to be incredibly dry, so I tried spicing it up a little. Needless to say, the end result of this chapter wound up being over 6k of words, so I split it up to get something out before the week ended. The next chapter will be released soon since it's a continuation of the mark's explanation. Even though it's been completed I'm not happy with it, so it's still undergoing some revision. It'll be a slightly longer chapter than this one.

Thanks goes out to all the reviewers who have been a real inspiration in pushing these chapters out despite the lingering physical pain of typing. I really do appreciate all of you who took the time to review.

Please review and let me know what you thought of the latest chapter. Too confusing? Was it a surprise or were you already expecting something of that nature to come into play?

By the way, I created a small poll on my profile several weeks ago for my readers to choose my next project since this story should be wrapping up in the next 2 months or so depending on my pain level. If you're interested in one of my story outlines, cast your vote and I'll start drafting it at the end of October. I've already started on one short story that was supposed to be my Halloween one, but it became too long and time consuming, so I'll withhold that one until next Halloween. Because I shelved that story, I'm about to start on another Halloween story, so expect slight delays in this story line as I write it. I am still aiming for one chapter per week quota.

**Next Chapter:** Continuation on details on the mark, and a little more on Rukia's past and name. Also, a little smut thrown in to prep for the following chapter 18, which I had drafted even before the first chapter of this story was ever written. I'm a little odd that I write big smut scenes and work a story around it most of the times.


	17. Chapter 17: Fragile Bonds

**Title: **_**Dream of Me**_

**Chapter 17: Fragile Bonds**

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KARAKURA: ICHIGO'S APARTMENT

"_Vice versa, if I die, you will too. Unless you know how to undo what you have done, our chain of fate has been irrevocably welded to each other. Even in death, our souls will remain eternally entwined."_

Gaping at her in bemused seriousness, Ichigo was unsure how to respond to the latest revelations. _Tied eternally to Rukia? _For some reason, he wasn't entirely opposed to the idea. Since seeing her the first time, he had always felt irrevocably tied to her in some way, shape, or form; as if he had known her forever.

Seeing her staring in silent contemplation at his mark as if entranced, he focused his attention on the glowing symbols as well. Trying to shift his attention to something that was more physically explainable—rather than wrapping his brain around the whole cerebral theology of soul bindings; he absently asked Rukia a question that had been of utmost concern since seeing a similar mark burned into the wall at the latest murder scene.

"So can you read these symbols?" He softly asked as he rested his marked forearm across his chest on top of one of her thighs for her to examine closely.

Rukia always assumed that a binding mark would vibrate with evil energy and intent. However, the longer she stared at the mark she became hypnotically mesmerized and lost herself from her original objective. Deep within her, she felt an urgent craving to _touch it . . . stroke it . . . caress it_. As its luminance began to glow more strongly, she unconsciously ran one finger along one pointed tip of the pentagram to another.

She gasped as desire struck straight to her core, renewing a fresh bout of wetness between her legs. As for Ichigo, he purred loudly in pleasure and arched his hips up rubbing his cock against her wet folds. Gulping at the dryness in her throat, she jerked her hand away in shock.

"Damn, that was intense." Ichigo growled in surprise. He was still reveling in the aftershocks of the experience. It had felt like an otherworldly feather touch along his anus to his testicles and upwards to the head of his cock. But it also felt like someone had ran an electrical current of pure desire from head to toe through him.

Obviously, Rukia was just as affected; judging by the damp area of his boxers where she was currently sitting and the flush that settled from her cheeks to her upper chest. Even her nipples had darkened noticeably, the rigid little nubs looked painfully sensitive and just begged for attention.

Unable to resist the siren's call and still riding on the shockwave of her touch, Ichigo raised himself slightly and leaned forward on one hand. He nuzzled her nipples, his breath hot against them, and then suckled them until she thought she'd die with pleasure.

Grasping one pert nipple between his thumb and forefinger, while sucking ravenously on the other; he groaned in ecstasy. Her taste was inexplicably pure Rukia, and he could never get enough of her. And just like that, in an instant, they were both lost to their desires.

Rukia moaned in abandonment, and squirmed unconsciously trying to ease the inner ache she felt over his stiff member. The torment from his earlier torturous caresses had only just begun to subside, when the latest onslaught of passion caused by the mark reawakened her desire. When he released her breast from his mouth, he latched onto the other neglected nub. This time she clutched his head closer, tangling her hands through his hair. Ichigo's masterful, masculine touch made her want to dissolve, and left her rolling her hips against his. The urge to touch her sex was overwhelming. She wanted to beg to ride him. Her body twitched as she fought it.

When he dragged his mouth away from her damp breasts, he leaned closer to her and tangled one hand in her hair behind her head to tug it firmly back, leaving her lips defenseless for his ravaging kiss. Instead of resisting him, she leaned forward, now kissing him, twining one hand in his thick spiky orange hair, while the other clawed his neck and back in desperation. Rukia's legs had wrapped themselves around him as he squeezed her backside, grinding her against him. He knew she was lost, clinging so sweetly to him, her elbows on his shoulders, her forearms crossed behind his head.

Ichigo was in the midst of fumbling in between their lower bodies to pull aside the slit in his boxers to free his shaft so that he could finally sheath himself to the hilt in her; when suddenly a loud growling noise echoed through the room. Completely ruining the moment and grounding him back to the earthly realm. Slightly embarrassed by his grumbling stomach, he withdrew his mouth from her. She shivered at the separation, and he could feel the muscles of her thighs tighten as she rubbed slightly her sensitive clit against him in reaction as if scratching an itch.

Rukia was dizzy, overwhelmed by the sheer hunger she'd felt from him, confused when he threw his head back, struggling not to come. After some time, he hunched over her shoulder panting in passionate restraint. With Rukia in his lap, he buried his head into the crook of her neck gripping both lower cheeks in each hand tightly against him to forestall any movement from the either of them that fire up their lusts once again. Her hard little nipples rubbed erotically against his bare chest with every breath the both of them took. His concerted even breathing slowly provided subtle success in dousing the flames of their desire.

When his protesting stomach gave one more rumble of complaint, he sighed in helpless resignation and lifted Rukia off of him enough to stand up beside the bed. Pulling his discarded button shirt from the floor, he helped Rukia slide her arms through the sleeves. Then help fold up the cuffs to her elbows, button up random buttons on the shirt below the curvatures of her breasts, and gathered her long hair from underneath the collar. Ichigo sighed in regret about concealing the visual buffet in front of him. But if they were to have any serious conversation, he needed a clear head to get out all the unasked questions he had.

After gathering up all of Rukia's supplies from her so-called _artistic_ drawing frenzy, he tossed them back onto his desk and returned to Rukia. Lacing his fingers through one of her hands, he tugged her gently out the bedroom and into the kitchen where he had dropped his cooling dinner on the table.

He sat down at the table, and pulled a no longer docile Rukia into his awaiting lap. She appeared to have snapped out of her lust induced daze, and was ready to bolt out of his lap until he tightened his arm around her in warning with a ready scowl. She stopped struggling and sat still with arms akimbo, but scowled back at him in a fit of feminine pique. He didn't understand it, but he felt compelled to remain in contact with her. It was almost as if he felt she would disappear if he didn't have her constantly in his inner personal space. At the same time, his mind was much more agitated if he couldn't touch her. But when he did touch her, he couldn't control his motor skills enough to stop touching her.

Dragging the food near him, he opened it and scooped some of the food on a pair of disposable chop sticks and tried to feed Rukia. However, she would have none of it and just turned her face away in a grimace of disgust.

"You need to eat. You haven't eaten since you woke up this morning, have you?" Ichigo asked, determined to force feed her if necessary.

The thought of Rukia, weak or unhealthy sent chills of desperate fear down his spine in concern. True, he hadn't known her for long, and he didn't know whether it was caused by the branding on his arm or not. But he didn't care what the reasons were; he wanted her full, healthy, feisty, and utterly vibrant with life. Not because his own life depended on it, but because of the _tendre_ he was already developing for her. Having never been in love, he wasn't ready to take that final step and admit that the possessive feeling he had over her was exponentially growing to something much deeper than just the physical craving of sex.

Although, he wouldn't deny the extreme physical attraction between them. He was thankful that it wasn't completely one-sided, despite Rukia having yet to take any initiative in that arena. Ichigo was aware the constant sparks between them could literally blaze out of control without a moment's notice. It was a little disconcerting to be reduced to animalistic lust driven bouts, but he couldn't say he didn't enjoy it when they occurred. Pulling Ichigo from his emotional turmoil, Rukia finally responded.

"The disgusting human habit of mastication only to be followed by defecation? No, thank you." She sniffed in haughty disdain.

"How are you going to survive if you don't eat?" Ichigo asked curiously, not quite willing to shelve the idea of force feeding her.

Cheeks slightly pink, Rukia delicately cleared her throat uncomfortably. Then she murmured reticently under her breath almost too low for him to hear. "Do you forget, I'm an Oneroi. I subside on the smorgasbord of emotions that you constantly bombard me with."

Ichigo smirked in delight at that telling tidbit. So it sounded like his '_doth protesting too much' _Rukia could survive off of a surfeit of passion. Ichigo would thoroughly enjoy providing her sustenance then. She frowned at him, as if sensing his carnal thoughts.

"Very well then, drink this. I'm assuming you still drink if not eat." He said out loud instead, trying to allay her suspicions.

Holding up the strange box curiously, she turned it around and around. "What is it?" she asked.

"It's a juice box." He distractedly stated, while concentrating on feeding that gaping hole in his stomach.

"Juice box? What do I do with it?" she asked in baffled confusion.

Raising one eyebrow at her in incredulous disbelief, he sighed and answered, "It's for drinking, midget. You take the straw and poke it into the box."

"Straw?" questioned Rukia, clueless to human feeding habits.

Rolling his eyes, he grabbed the box from her and showed her how to extract the straw and then stab it through the indicated spot. Despite her age, she was endearingly clueless about the ways of the modern living world

Tentatively, she sipped the liquid. She was immensely surprised by its taste and texture. "It's quite good. Thank you." She murmured absently, intently focused on her enjoyment of the drink.

Since Rukia refused to eat, Ichigo began shoveling food into his mouth trying to calm his plaintive stomach that hadn't been fed all day other than cup after cup of god awful tar sludge that was commonly called police issue brewed coffee. "Now tell me exactly what the symbols on my arm mean?" He waved his food laden chop sticks towards the vicinity of his arm.

Setting aside her drink, she primly folded her hands on top of her lap. Afraid she would fall into its erotic spell once again, she adamantly refused to even glance in the direction of his arm. Instead, she stared distantly at a far wall and answered.

"At a glance, I'm not familiar with all those symbols, because it looks like some of them don't quite appear to be of either necromancer or demon origin. It's not the meaning of the symbols that confuse me so much as much as the combination of all the symbols. The positions, placements, and intent are very strange . . . .

For a necromancer to do such, it is utterly unthinkable. Because by doing this, it would leave you utterly defenseless, and you would not gain anything in the bargain. In addition, my real name has been cast inside those marks. I wasn't able to read it, but I recognize my soul threads tied within . . . . _How would a lowly necromancer who doesn't have any clue about his inheritance know a name that even I have never been privy to?_"

"Isn't '_Rukia'_ your name?" Ichigo mumbled absently through another full mouth of food in confusion.

"'_Rukia'_ is just a nickname. From what I heard, the nickname I was originally given was '_Lucia'_, which meant '_light'_. But someone misspoke it as '_Rukia'_, and the name just sort of stuck as I grew up over the centuries."

Of course, Rukia didn't tell him everything, but in some ways she was glad that the original nickname was never used. Being called such in her world would add even more shame to her existence, which was probably why her name may have been purposely misspoken in the first place. As to who had given her original nick name, she had no clue either.

Rukia was never able to delve into the topic of her past much, since any mention of it appeared to be a taboo topic. Besides, no other Oneroi appeared to know much about her to begin with. From all intent and purposes, she had simply appeared as an infant in the Oneroi world mysteriously one day. Because her features were still more or less Oneroi in shape and form, most of her people simply assumed that her non-ideal and _unique_—well to put it bluntly _ugly_—appearance horrified her progenitors so much that they abandoned her. Because of the emotionless state of all the Oneroi, the fickle discarding of Oneroi children while not common wasn't completely unheard of either in their society.

"I don't quite understand. So why is it you don't know the name you say is bound in my mark?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

She only shrugged in practiced unconcern and answered, "By chance, I wasn't given it."

Left unsaid was that she was an orphan who had no clue as to what her lineage was, or why her progenitor hadn't at least gifted her with a name before abandoning her. Judging from Ichigo's mark however, someone must have named her at some point. If her current situation weren't so dire, she would probably have been overcome with . . . _gratitude_? She wasn't just a _changeling_ that no other Oneroi would lay claim to, she had been given a _real_ _name_ at some point in her life.

It was a little disheartening for a lowly despicable necromancer—her specie's sworn enemy—to hold something as precious as her real name, and without her knowledge to boot. She was conflicted with a variety of unfamiliar emotions as she reflected the discovery that she finally had a name, but she still had no clue as to what it was. What was more, before she could learn of its true identity; it was too late and had been put into play for some dubious necromancer scheme.

Seeing her distant unreadable expression, he switched his line of thought since the current conversation was clearly an uncomfortable and sore topic for her. "If I showed you a picture of similar marks burned into a wall, would you be able to interpret them for me?"

Looking confused at the sudden change in topic, Rukia just nodded warily in acceptance. _Why would he have pictures of something similar? Was he truly innocent of all that had happened to her recently?_

Mentally reminding himself to bring home a crime scene photo tomorrow, he asked another question that had been plaguing him.

"There is one other thing that has been bothering me. Are the Oneroi highly sexual? Meaning, are they constantly emitting pheromones or something. Every thought, look, or even the sound of your voice is like an instant switch for the little guy down stairs. Is this part of the binding or just your species natural characteristic?"

Blushing slightly, she followed his waving hand towards his groin and stared unblinkingly at the large bulge underneath his boxers. "Were you affected similarly before the binding? I seem to recall your aroused state even then. I just assumed your constant state was normal. Don't most males go through some period of maturity that drives their hormonal levels abnormally high? Perhaps you haven't matured completely yet."

Aghast at her theory and thoroughly offended, he gritted through his teeth in denial, "I'm not a hormonal 15 year old teenaged boy! So answer my question, do the Oneroi have hidden powers when it comes to sexual attraction?"

"The Oneroi do not cast any sexual lures." She stated simply with no embellishments.

Ichigo knew she was hiding something though. He was absolutely certain that his never-ending cockstand was a result of Rukia. Then again, she was correct in the fact that he was aroused the first time he saw her in his dreams. Not only that, but she was the main star of his perverted fantasies for all the times he had to jack-off to ease the ache in seeing her in his nightly dreams. _Maybe a person could be allergic to a demon presence, and manifest that allergy with mindless lust. In this crazy world, anything was possible. Right?_

Trying to veer the conversation to a safer topic, because she didn't want Ichigo to progress in his line of questioning to the facts on how Oneroi mated and their mating heat rituals. It would most certainly lead to questions about her non-existent sexual experience.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened in your dreams? Before I lost my wings?" Rukia asked Ichigo curiously. It was something that she had been in the dark about, the events that led to where she was now.

Loosing his current train of thought, Ichigo tried to recall what had happened. "It's all a blur to me now, but I vaguely recall seeing some sort of ribbon come out of your chest which had a variety of symbols circling your chest. I remember seeing something tug on that ribbon, causing you a great deal of pain. And feeling an urgent need that told me that I could not let you go and that danger awaited you. That's all I remember. Also, when I came to, my hand had been subconsciously manipulating with the floating symbols in your chest. By the time, I pulled my arm back out, this marked arm was stinging in pain. I didn't realize it was the branding mark, until I awoke."

"Symbols in my chest? Do you still see them?" Rukia asked in great surprise. She pulled apart the edges of the lowly buttoned shirt and tried to awkwardly look down at her exposed upper chest to see if she could catch a glimpse of any evidence to verify his claims.

Eyes automatically following the fingers she was using to trace around her exposed upper chest to check for any sign of the symbols—his own fingers twitched in response to join hers; however, he responded casually.

"No, since waking up to find you in my bedroom, I can no longer see them. Maybe it can only be seen in your dream form? By the way, these marks . . . . Does it explain why you no longer have your wings?"

Still obviously avoiding any look towards his arm, she answered, "I told you that in the fourth level of binding, a necromancer can bind a demon to a specific shape. I suspect that you wanted me to look thus—sans my wings, so that's why I no longer have the capability of flying. _It may also explain why I've been inundated with strange feelings since my awakening . . . ._" Her voice trailed off in consternation, while she scowled and stared darkly in accusation at him from the corner of her eye.

Lips twitching into a small hidden smile at that last comment, Ichigo repressed any snide comments on the tip of his tongue. He didn't want to incite her anger at the moment, especially while she was answering his questions calmly. Truthfully, he didn't miss the ice princess act. Perhaps, he was indeed guilty of that charge, but it didn't bother his conscience one bit about her new ability to feel emotions. He really did enjoy her spitfire tendencies, and he definitely relished her unrestrained passionate responses to his caresses. His mouth salivated at the thought of the fireworks that would go off once he really made love to her. And there was no question that he would eventually make love to her. Judging by all their previous encounters, he was definitely looking forward to lighting the sheets on fire with her.

Finishing his meal finally, he sipped the rest of her juice, and wiped his mouth on a napkin. Then he chucked the empty juice box and take out container in a nearby garbage bin.

It was then; Ichigo finally noticed what he should have seen all along if he hadn't been occupied with stuffing his face with food. "Why won't you look at my mark?" He asked suspiciously certain now that she was hiding something.

Her response was only to blush and look down at her hands. "I don't know what you are talking about." She defensively denied. _The_ b_est defense is to deny everything, _she thought.

Now that his immediate physical needs had been appeased, and his head was still reasonably clear enough to string thoughts together intelligibly; his detective instincts fired up at her answer.

"What is it about this mark that has you suddenly all jittery and nervous? Obviously, you're no longer afraid of it, seeing how anything that happens to you happens to me as well. So what are you not telling me?"

Rather than answer him, she hopped off his lap to escape. However, he trapped her in between his spread knees on each side. With the table at her back, she wouldn't escape until she answered him.

Ichigo stood up and caged her in between his arms by leaning his hands on the table, and whispered wickedly in her ear. "This mark . . . . Isn't it the equivalent of a master-slave relationship? You belong to me now. " Using his police interrogation methods in taunting perps, he purposely tried to ruffle her feathers. Perhaps, he could get her to accidentally reveal what she was intent on hiding.

"Idiot, I already told you! The mark doesn't give you any real advantage or power over me. Besides, you wouldn't know how to control a flea, much less something as complex as a demon spell." Rukia retorted, while trying to unobtrusively slip out from under his arms. But the sudden press of his pelvis against hers prevented any movement.

"Is that so?" Taking a queue from her earlier touch, he touched his mark with his other hand behind her back. Her response was instantaneous; she gasped and leaned closer into his chest in a quivering mass of desire, and then curled her nails into his pectorals. Unfortunately, he learned to his detriment that the plan backfired because the feeling traversed through his own body as well, arousing every erogenous zone on his body. She would have collapsed to her knees if not for Ichigo wrapping his arms around her holding her up.

"Damn it! That was a bad idea." He was panting hard like he had just done a 5 mile run. "So, spit it out. What are you not telling me?"

Hesitating for several silent moments to calm the tempest in her own heart, she continued hiding her face in his chest. "It's not that I'm hiding something specifically per se, but each time I look at your branding in depth . . . its almost as if you take a piece of my soul and I lose another part of what makes me who I am." She whispered in a reluctant tone, hiding her face in his chest.

Ichigo's eyes softened at her confession; tenderly embracing her while toying with the ends of her hair with one hand. For the moment, he simply enjoyed the quiet understanding between them. Although he felt exactly the same—that loss of identity—he didn't feel the instinctive need to fight it as much as she did.

However, the questions he had, they were becoming increasingly pressing and he really needed some hard answers. He gently asked her, "Can you at least do it one time? If you really want to find a way to break the binding, you need to tell me everything you can about it."

Rukia sighed, acknowledging he was right and she was being childish. She simply nodded in acceptance.

Relieved, he stepped back to create some space between them, and silently held up his arm for her inspection.

This time she knew to ignore the seductive pull of the mark and _see _what the other symbols represented. Trying to ignore the mesmerizing glamour that protected most of the symbols was a hard task though. The whispering she could hear in her head reverberated so much that her heart raced and she was so tempted to touch the mark again. Her stubborn persistence paid off however, and she was finally was able to partially see what she had missed in her previous casual glances to the mark. Her eyes widened in shock. _Was it possible that the bonding hadn't been complete yet?_

The entire time Rukia had been lost in her thoughts, Ichigo had been studying her every reaction. "Tell me." He demanded of her, unable to wait for an explanation any longer after hearing her gasp in clear surprise.

Raising her head she looked seriously into his eyes, she replied, "I can't quite decipher all of the symbols because some things like my name are hidden to all except the eyes of the originator of the mark."

"So shouldn't I be able to view this, since I supposedly am the originator?" Ichigo asked, wondering why this information had any bearing on the current topic at hand.

Rukia frowned, before answering hesitantly, "It looks like it wasn't wholly you that actually cast the binding. It appears there was a third party involved."

In fact, there was something oddly familiar about that presence tickling at the back of her memories. _Who could it be?_ Whoever it was, it was definitely not of Oneroi origins, of that she was positive. But other than Ichigo, she really wasn't familiar with anyone non-Oneroi.

Gaping at her in confusion, he stuttered, "B-buut, that's not possible. There was no one but you and me in my dream. Nor was there anyone else in my apartment when I awoke directly after."

Taping a finger against her lips, her brow wrinkled while she thought silently for a moment about a possible explanation. After a brief pause, Rukia speculated out loud. "You said it yourself, you lost conscious thought in the dream world for a brief period in time. It's possible some other entity could have possessed you in that time frame. I find it highly strange that they would have to know who you were, and who I was as well."

"You're right. It does seem more of a premeditative action with us than something that occurred by a chance encounter. And this third person had to have your name as well, am I correct? How accessible is the knowledge of your name?" Ichigo asked, more confused than ever.

With great reluctance, Rukia revealed one small tidbit of information about herself, "Until now, I hadn't realize I had a true name. Only one person would know my name. _The one that gifted me with it._ However, because this person is unknown to me, it's a mystery to me as to how that information was retrieved. It is highly unlikely that a demon would voluntary give up another demon's name, knowing the outcome would result in nothing but havoc."

To dispel the bleak mood that the reminder of her uknown name caused, Rukia ecstatically imparted her latest news. "There's one more thing . . . . What I said before—about the eternal bindings of our soul—is not quite correct." At least her outlook on the situation wasn't completely grim, now that she knew there may be an _'out clause'_ for her situation.

"_What_?!" Just when he was getting comfortable with the whole soul entwining concept, this threw him for a loop.

In a matter of fact tone, she casually informed him, "The contract isn't completely sealed yet, it requires one last element . . . . _A blood sacrifice_."

"Wait, like killing a chicken or a goat?" Ichigo exclaimed in complete distaste.

Rolling her eyes at his question, Rukia answered, "It wouldn't be much of a sacrifice if it's some livestock getting butchered, now would it? Sacrifice indicates it must be some sort of personal attachment. In any case, the sacrifice needs to come from me. Let it be known, idiot, there is not a chance in hell I would sacrifice anything to this."

Still puzzled, Ichigo asked, "So why would it require a blood sacrifice from you, but not from me?"

This time Rukia's cheerful façade fell away and she stared at his chest unable to look into his penetratingly intense eyes. She had been hoping he wouldn't delve too far on that topic. It appeared that when his body was not overtaken with lust for her, his mind was quite sharp and missed very little if at all.

Rukia was not quite sure how to impart the information that she had garnered on his end of the contract. She was only able to decipher the connections, because she had personally viewed his nightmares on a nightly basis for so long. "For the spell to be set permanently, both parties must provide a blood sacrifice . . . . It appears that you have already completed your side of the sacrificial requirement."

"But I've never sacrificed anything. Wouldn't I know if I sacrificed something personal?" He asked in bafflement.

In a halting voice, she replied, "_You may not have realized it at the time. But Ichigo, . . . your mother's death was the base component of your sacrifice. In fact, it provided the catalyst for setting up the initial binding spell. The spell may have lain in dormant all this time, waiting for us to meet._"

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A/N:

**SIDE NOTE:** I read an old Kubo interview recently, and he mentioned the origins of Rukia's name. I thought it was fascinating, so I wanted to reference it in this chapter since it kind of fits Rukia's character in this story line. Most people assume "Rukia" means 'decayed wood'. However, that's incorrect. The name, "Kuchiki" refers to decayed wood, and what Kubo thought her first name was "light." My search on the word "rukia" only revealed that it's a type of bird.

I really struggled with this chapter. The core of the chapter was written 3 weeks ago, but my constant revisions kept adding more and more text. That led to it's multiple divvying up because of its length. I did think about dividing this chapter up as well, but that might incite a riot for my regular reviewers. In the end, I took out half the smut that I previously added to this chapter. Maybe I'll put it in again in a much later chapter. I don't want to OD everyone on too much smut, while the plot gets lost in the tide.

_Please review, and let me know what you thought of this chapter._ Are the revlations starting to make sense? As some answers get revealed, more mysteries will begin to unravel. It's the longest chapter to date (over 5k words), and I worked extremely hard in tweaking it. Transitional flow may be still be a little rough around the edges and I'm not quite comfortable about the consistency. But if I keep revising and rearranging this chapter, it'll take up to another week to release. Frankly, I really don't want to edit this chapter for a long long time.

As some of you have commented on, I like to intersperse "_Dream of Me_" with specific recognizable scenes or dialogue from the manga or anime. I have a couple of more planned, but if you have a specific scene, dialogue, or favorite quote you would like to see included; I'm open to suggestions. It doesn't necessarily have to be IchiRuki only scenes either.

Thanks again to everyone who took the time to review and gave me feedback. I appreciate that a lot. And welcome to all the new readers just joining into the story.

Expect some delays for the next chapter. I sort of consider this as two chapters because of the length. Since I spent too much time on this chapter, I need to get back to my Halloween fic. Sometimes, good introspective feedbacks will guilt me into publishing faster. (So to all those mysterious readers out there: please, please drop me a review and give me some honest to god feedback.) Juggling work, tendonitis, family, dinner, getting the little one fed, bathed, and in bed is pretty exhausting. _So inspire me._

I'm starting to get horrifying flashbacks from my old college days over a decade ago. I haven't written anything that was not a tech report for that many years. There's reason I'm in the IT field. Revisions on this chapter was a nightmare from beginning to end. It's kind of making me second guess myself why I'm writing at all to begin with. This has become more extremely time consuming than I ever imagined. The negatives appear to be far outweighing the benefits at the moment.

Fathom


	18. Chapter 18: Wicked Reprieve

**Title: **_**Dream of Me**_

**Chapter 18: Wicked Reprieve**

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KARAKURA: ICHIGO'S APARTMENT

In a halting voice, she replied, "_You may not have realized it at the time. But Ichigo, . . . your mother's death was the base component of your sacrifice. In fact, it provided the catalyst for setting up the initial binding spell. The spell may have lain in dormant all this time, waiting for us to meet._"

All the blood drained from his face, making Ichigo look extremely pale. The food he just ate churned disturbingly in his stomach. He had to swallow hard to prevent it from spewing back up his throat. It took several attempts of his mouth opening and closing before his voice came back to him.

"S-So you're saying that my mother's death 20 years ago precipitated in these events? Does that mean her death was not a random event and that she was sacrificed to make this mark?" He asked in an unsteady but deadly voice.

Flinching slightly at the repressed rage in his tone, she replied, "I do not understand it myself, but I only recognize the essence of your mother's spirit because I've seen your dreams often enough to recognize her soul threads."

With his thoughts solely focused on meting punishment out to his mother's killer, he questioned Rukia further. "You once implied that you could find my mother's killer. Who was it? Where can I go to find that demon?"

After a pregnant pause, Rukia replied, "While I don't know the details or the purpose of your mother's death, the only information I can give you is the name of the demon that killed her. The demon is called . . . Grand Fisher."

Eyes intent on her face, Ichigo softly asked, "How do I find him?"

Sighing in perturbation, she answered, "Ichigo, you can't run around hunting and killing demons."

"You said I was a necromancer, right? Then show me how I can kill him."

Looking to the side at the far wall, Rukia avoided the combination of anguish and fire of revenge in his eyes. "It's not that simple, Ichigo. Besides, he's managed to outwit or outfight even the demon enforcers that hunt him for decades. " She said firmly, unwilling to budge.

His hands curled tightly into fists at his sides, visibly restraining himself from shaking some answers out of her. Ichigo closed his eyes and swallowed the rising tide of anger in him. Now was not the time, but he would continue to relentlessly pursue the information he needed despite her refusal to help.

Drawing in a deep breath to calm his nerves, he opened his eyes and concentrated on the other topic that bothered him. "If the contract isn't complete yet, does that mean that what happens to one of us will not happen to the other?"

"While it remains true that our current lifeline is still bound . . . . It is a tentative contract at best. If the contract hasn't been fulfilled with all its requirements, it remains possible for us to break the contract."

Ichigo was more or less still stuck on one point. "So we're not technically bound yet?"

Much to Rukia's surprise, disappointment clearly laced his voice. His response caused Rukia's eyes to snap to his face in consternation. "You sound disappointed. Did you want to be bound to me in this life and the next?"

He seemed to stiffen at her question, and a muscle in his cheek twitched. Then she had the impression that he was forcing himself to relax.

His gaze was flickering over her face, sometimes resting on her lips, but now meeting her eyes. His voice was deep and husky when he said, "Among other things."

Taking one finger he traced her eyebrow delicately, before drawing it over her cheekbone and running it over her lips. Ichigo leaned closer to her as that same finger trailed along her ears, down her throat and towards the buttons on her shirt.

Huskily he asked her, "This blood sacrifice . . . . Does it have to involve someone's death? Or can it be . . . like a body part?"

Ignoring his hand that was plucking playfully at her shirt; she concentrated on his question, thinking carefully about the ramifications. "That is the most likely scenario. Since I am not attached to anyone, death to anyone I know would not be of any personal sacrifice. Therefore, a limb or so would suffice to seal the contract. "

Intently eyeing her from beneath half lidded eyes, he softly asked her, "So would the deflowering of your virginity be considered as a blood sacrifice?"

Her breath caught in shock as her mind raced. When the significance of his question hit her, Rukia's countenance paled considerably. It had simply never occurred to her that the blood price would involve that type of sacrifice. Her voice trembled with dismay as she responded, "Y-Yes, but how did you know . . . ?"

"That you're still a virgin? Several clues . . . . You kiss like one, taste like one, smell like one, react like one, and also because of this . . . ." With those last words, Ichigo dragged up her shirt tails above her thighs. Because of his abrupt motion she didn't stop him or think fast enough to protest, even when he palmed her between her legs. He trailed skilled and nimble fingers along the smooth hairless folds between her legs and toying with the slick heat he found there. Coating his fingers in the newly produced dew, Ichigo eased a finger deeply inside her to butt up against the thin barrier within, the inescapable proof of her innocence.

Ichigo knew the longer she stayed with him, he would try to bed her at every opportunity even as he knew he shouldn't. He was neither patient nor a saint. Once he set his sights on something he wanted, he went after it with a bull dogged determination that generally scared away all bystanders with his intensity. _Despite her definite non-human origins, Rukia definitely qualified as something he wanted with every fiber of his being._ Having made up his mind, he gave her an ultimatum. "You have 2 weeks to find a way to break the contract. You have my word on that. Otherwise, soul binding or not, I will take what's mine regardless of the consequences."

"A-Against my will?" she responded aghast, almost rendered speechless by his possessive words. She tried to inch back from him but was blocked by the table behind her.

Leaning over her, Ichigo rasped huskily in her ear, "Never against your will. I can assure you that when the time comes, you'll be begging for me to come inside you." His mouth lingered there, as if to make sure she heard him, and then lightly rubbed his face against her cheek before running his lips caressingly along her jaw line; while his lower hand continued to explore where no other man had gone before.

Rukia gasped again, her shame deepening because even his words stirred her, made her want his lips against hers again, his breath hot against them. Just as she was about to gather enough resolve to pull away, he gathered her closer to kiss her earlobe, and she wondered, mystified, why she'd deemed this so terrible. They weren't doing anything more than the simple pressing of their bodies together. _Of course, he wouldn't break his word to her and take her virginity just yet. Would he?_

He put his free palm on the back of her head, drawing her in. She thought he would kiss her, but he hesitated, as if to let her body grow accustomed to his, as if savoring her uncertain but passionately passive demeanor.

The second he placed his lips on hers and slanted his mouth to delve deeper into her mouth, heat shot through her body. When he dragged his mouth away from her lips, he kissed a trail down the side of her neck—leaving a path of red marks in his wake with his random nips and suckling. She inhaled in a deep breath, staggered by the physical and emotional feelings that arose.

Ichigo removed the hand in between her legs. However, both of his hands soon found purchase behind her on her backside and yanked her into him hard, until she could feel his erection, huge against her pelvis. _This is wrong . . . . _However, his lips, warm and firm quelled any protesting thought.

Oddly, she lost any will to object. She knew she should be resisting him, but an intense arousal overwhelmed her. She didn't have the strength to voice even the faintest protest.

With each kiss, she wanted to show this mortal more of her, to bare her breasts and have him run his fingers through her hair. Instead, he didn't touch her so gently. He wrapped the ends around his fist as his lips returned insistently hot against her neck. His tongue and teeth flickered adroitly over her skin, and her eyes slowly drifted shut in surrender.

Ichigo groaned anew to find her so body so comfortably pliant against him. His engorged cock was about to rip through his boxers. Ichigo had long ago completely undone her buttons, while Rukia had been distracted. Spreading open her shirt, he peeled it down her slack arms and let it drift to the floor.

Once she was revealed completely, he studied her, his gaze drinking her in. Her skin was a perfect alabaster covered only by her long hair, the black silk curtain draped like a waterfall along her body. He loved her hair, but in some ways he was jealous of the erotic curves it concealed. Remembering the fleeting tastes of her skin; his cock pulsed, the head growing slick with anticipation.

Ichigo pressed her against the edge of the table, pinning her there, and set his mouth to sucking her throbbing little nipples. He closed his eyes with pleasure; groaning as his tongue swirled around them, and pressed it towards the roof of his mouth while he suckled strongly with deep pulls.

Such a small, innocent being, to be the object of so many of his violent passions. Instead of the mate he'd always expected, he'd found a Succubus—a small, fragile female Oneroi. He hadn't even known they had ever even existed. However, the longer he was with her, he couldn't understand how he had lived without her for so long.

Lifting her onto the table top, Ichigo stepped back and dropped his only remaining clothing to pool at his feet. Her eyes widened as she lowered her gaze, focused on her first full look at his cock. He let her look her fill, even leaned back crossing his arms over his chest while she stared. Under her rapt gaze, he grew harder, his length distending, until she gasped.

Unable to prolong the separation any longer, he spread her knees wide, and then pressed himself fully in between her legs. His hands palmed her backside and yanked her against his unyielding hardness.

Christ help him, his instincts still said this raven haired, ethereal creature was . . . _his_. Everything in his soul screamed inside him to touch her, to possess her, and to claim her. He'd waited for so long . . . .

Panting hard, Ichigo lowered his mouth again and touched his tongue to hers. For the first time she met him halfway, wanting him to take her mouth deeply. He was aggressive, but masterful. He made her melt for him, undulate her hips up and down his erection, seeking more. She didn't know how much longer she could take him touching her without begging for him as he had predicted.

Ichigo growled low, and then rasped against her lips, "Touch me". He guided both her hands up and pressed them flat against his sculpted chest before releasing them.

Displaying muscles flexing and tensing beneath her palms, Rukia instinctively knew what he wanted from her. Slowly she ran curious hands over his broad chiseled chest and briefly circled the small hard nipples she found with her fingertips. Aroused even more, shameless with it, she glided her hand down past his narrow waist to grasp his awaiting stiff shaft. She hadn't realized the skin around it would feel so soft. It was like steel overlaid with satin. But it was so large that she had to use both hands to wrap around him.

When he groaned unwillingly the more she explored him. Rukia felt a heady mixture of anger and empowerment. It was a combination she had never felt before.

"Damn you for making me feel this way," she said on a breath, thumbing the moist head of his cock. Ichigo shuddered in response, while his eyes drifted seductively half shut at the feel of her touching him. Compulsively, he lowered his head again, and took one nipple between his teeth, softly scraping its edge on the rigid tip. When he growled possessively against it, she whimpered in response.

Ichigo went back to kissing her as if he knew she would lose her nerve, making her arch her back to him as she ran her hands along his impossibly large shaft. Shuddering, he spread her knees further, and stepped back; groaning at the sight of her bared flesh.

For some reason she wasn't embarrassed as he stared, his eyes dark and hungry. In fact, his lust filled gaze made her tremble and clench her inner muscles in rampant desire.

He said, "You belong to me," before taking her mouth so thoroughly, she was left panting and stunned as he pulled away after an unending long moment. Returning to her gorgeously blushing nipples, he growled in pleasure. With only his mouth on her breasts, she was ready to beg him for mercy. Her hand squeezed his shaft involuntarily, and her shaking intensified as her body throbbed for release.

She was close, she felt it, on the verge of finally knowing the pleasure she'd never experienced, had only imagined. She gave a sharp cry when his fingers gently caressed her exposed sex.

"So wet," he rasped, "you feel like silk." Fingers caressing up and down slowly, leaving her flesh trembling in their wake, coaxed her even wetter. Then one finger dipped fully inside her, giving her no quarter as he had before, forcing her body to accept it. Nothing could feel that good. She moaned in bliss, running her fist up and down his rigid erection convulsively.

"Why have you never made love before?" he rumbled in her ear, then hissed in a breath when she cupped his heavy sack gently with one hand.

Unable to think beyond his touch, she absently responded, "Because I've never gone into mating heat, thus I've never felt the need."

His lips curled. Wicked grin. Wicked Necromancer. With his slow, hot touch.

Somehow Ichigo knew that this was the way it was meant to be. He hadn't understood or known it before, but this was the woman he been waiting all his life for. _The one that would make the rain stop._ And somehow, he knew she had been waiting for him as well. They were like a puzzle that complimented each other in its interlocking pattern.

He grasped her neck, holding her to face him. With his other hand, he thrust his finger deeper—scraping against that secret spot within—and stroked his thumb over her clit. She was glad he held the back of her neck, or her head would've lolled.

"Look at me." Ichigo demanded firmly. His words whispered against her shivering skin.

Her eyes fluttered open like the wings of a butterfly.

"Whatever happens . . . you're mine, Rukia," he grated between ragged breaths. "Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Another deep thrust swiveled with deft expertise emphasized his pont. Her hips lifted to meet it this time, and she ground into his hand, needing release, needing him deeper.

"Do you understand me, Rukia? Always." Ichigo persisted possessively.

Struggling to understand the implications of his words, Rukia began to get an inkling of exactly what he meant. Her brows drew together in dazed confusion, as she breathed out in denial, "But we're enemies—"

He shook his head slowly, his thumb relentlessly stroking that small hard little knot, making it difficult to comprehend what he was telling her.

"B-but I'm a . . ." Why'd he have to tell her this now, while he made unhurried, perfect circles with his thumb? She vaguely understood what he was saying, and still she wanted his fingers playing, wanted him full and thick inside her. Her unfulfilled desire was making her body feel wrong, burning out of her control.

"You can't . . . . Your promise . . . . The blood sacrifice . . . ." Her words tripped over one other as she endeavored to get her protest out vocally.

Chuckling in wry amusement, he drawled, "Relax, Rukia. And enjoy the ride. You'll have to trust me. What is that American phrase? Ah, yes. There's more than one way to skin a cat . . . or to ride a cowboy." With that said Ichigo removed his penetrating fingers from her seductive sheath, and her hands from his cock. Then he lifted her in his arms and carried her away down the unlit hallway.

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**A/N:**

Due to all the requests, I put back the smut I removed from the last chapter. This chapter was basically an interlude to set up the longer smut for the next chapter. I'm finally done with explaining as much about the mark and their bond for the time being. I'm hoping the rest of the chapters will be set at a much faster pace, with some additional new character introductions.

Kudos to _akirk85029_ for guessing what the blood price was, even as far back as chapter 15. I'm glad some of you are piecing together certain clues. It lets me know that readers really are paying attention and not just skimming for smut.

As I add new chapters, I usually go back and edit an existing chapter. It's a little difficult for a writer to be objective when reading ones own writing. But I'm getting suspicious of something. Does anyone think my smut or writing in general is getting repetitive? I'd like to avoid falling in that trap. If a wording, phrase, or scene sounds repetitive, please let me know.

Please review. Let me know what you thought of the latest chapter, and any guesses, criticisms, or questions you might have.

**Next Chapter: **It's barely a scant 30 minutes after Ichigo first gave Rukia his ultimatum. Can Ichigo hold true to his word? How strong is his will power? I drafted 2 smut scenes before I ever wrote a single chapter of this story. It's finally time to release the first one.

Special thanks goes out to all the reviewers, I appreciate those who take the time to do so. It's like getting paid after the long hours of writing and editing, and it makes the grueling chore of it all worthwhile. They do give me incentive to write even when I've completely lost the groove and don't feel like writing.

Fathom


	19. Chapter 19: Walk on the Wild Side

**Title: **_**Dream of Me**_

**Chapter 19: Walk on the Wild Side**

**Warning:** Ahem…graphical smut? (I'm not sure why I bother warning, but just in case someone clicks on this story by accident.)

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**KARAKURA: ICHIGO'S APARTMENT**

The conversation, her wide-eyed innocence, and his overwhelming sense of possession drove him hard. She stood there and changed his world by merely existing. Making up his mind swiftly was both a curse and a blessing, but that's how he'd always been. This time it shoved him off the edge of the planet into an unknown universe.

Ichigo slid his arms under her and lifted her to his chest as he stood up and headed for the bathroom. Once inside the small space, he set her down gently on the sink countertop. Leaving his hands at her waist, his thumbs automatically drew small circles on her tight abs while he silently contemplated his next step. He swallowed heavily as he feasted his eyes on her ethereal beauty.

He'd been attracted to compact little women all his life, but he hadn't known there was a perfect one out there. This petite feminine being with her flawlessly beautiful face and form was the epitome of perfection. The Helen of Troy, where all men bowed in awe to her glorious beauty.

Such a small innocent looking Succubus—the object of so many of his violent passions. Lust, possessiveness, angst, and need pounded through his veins.

She'd given him nothing but acceptance once he carried her inside the bathroom and the gift of her trust sang through his soul. Touching her intimately became an urgent necessity. Ichigo hadn't meant to do it now, but the need to mark her as his possession wouldn't let him heed to his better judgment either.

Unable to resist the lure of tasting forbidden fruit one last time, he leaned down toward her face. Rukia's eyes drifted closed automatically in obvious expectation of a kiss.

Firm lips briefly brushed hers, and then were gone. Violet eyes blinked open at its shortness, as he straightened and smiled possessively down at her. After tracing her wet lips with one finger tip, he released her completely. Rukia's body tingled, echoes of mortal desire fading slightly with the separation of his touch.

Reluctantly turning away from her, he opened the glass enclosure to twist the spigot of water on. Then he adjusted the temperature, before turning back to her. Lifting her up off the counter, he set her feet back down on the floor. Clasping one of her hands securely in his, he stepped into the shower with her. Gently placing her under the warm water, he carefully rinsed her hair and body, paying special attention to the silver markings on her shoulder blades in curious exploration. Shifting her out of the water again, he grabbed the shampoo and started massaging her head and lathering her hair, meticulously keeping the soap suds from her eyes. When he tilted her head back in the water, she closed her eyes tightly, letting the falling water rinse the shampoo out of her hair.

Rukia let him bathe her with an absentminded acceptance. The Incubi and Succubi had no sexual desires of their own; they felt only the shadows cast by the lusting bodies of humans in their dreams. However, something foreign taunted her, making her want even more to feel a desire that started from her own body, to feel it as a human. When she opened her eyes after he shifted her head from the water, her eyes immediately drifted down towards the stiff, red-knobbed cock and heavy sack beneath it.

Despite the mechanical actions of Ichigo, his intent eyes spoke volumes. Rukia froze in uncertainty, shocked by the outpouring of desire and lust that he was projecting. Her body rippled with latent desire.

She was on the cusp between physical innocence and several centuries' worth of carnal knowledge. No quite fully chaste, and yet . . . not quite seasoned in mental seduction either. Her body had slowly begun to change, her breasts to fill, her waist to narrow, but the sexual longings that she felt were but a gentle mist compared to the pouring rain that would fall in the coming minutes.

Eventually, Ichigo's soapy hands slid down her body from both sides as he stood to her side, her shoulder pressed into his chest. The position gave him complete access to every curve and crevice.

Smoothing her hair aside; his teeth and tongue caressed her ear until she shivered and sank her nails heedlessly into his skin. Delicately his fingertips circled the tips of her breasts. Her nipples budded in a velvet rush that made Ichigo's whole body clench.

Rukia cried out softly and covered his hands with her own. Ichigo froze, expecting her to pull away. Instead she swayed subtly, pressing against his hands, caught in the sensual thrall of his touch. When the edge of his teeth ran up her neck, the burst of sensation that went through Rukia made it impossible to think—much less speak.

Ichigo caught the tight velvet peaks of Rukia's breasts and rolled them lovingly between his fingertips. Dimly, she realized that her hands were covering his as they roamed over her breasts, flicking and squeezing and arousing until her nipples pouted, flushed with heat. Then he bent his head and curled his tongue around a taut pink bud. Her head rolled back on her neck and she shivered as his mouth suckled her.

Ichigo took a deep, steadying breath and straightened until he could see Rukia's face. Her eyes were both shadowed and sultry, the look of someone caught between nightmare and dream fantasy.

Delicately Ichigo plucked at Rukia's nipples, which still thrust hungrily between his fingers. He felt again the heat of the blood rushing from Rukia's breast to her head. Slowly he released her nipples from his sensuous captivity.

She gave a ragged sigh of relief and leaned heavily against his body. But Ichigo didn't give her body the opportunity to cool down again. Soon enough, callused fingers separated her bottom and moved down the crevice. They almost distracted her from the hand in front until he glided fingers over wet womanly folds, pressing up to insert them into the deep grooves.

Gently he rubbed her sweet folds and rimmed the rosebud entrance behind her. Knowing fingers found her clit and stroked over it skillfully. Slowly he added pressure to the bundle of sensitive nerves. Behind her, his soapy middle finger slid into that rosebud shallowly, working in and out with gentle thrusts.

Rukia's eyes widened in surprise; she gasped at the sensations radiating through her from his probing fingertips. The gasp quickly became a moan. Ecstasy cascaded through her, sending a silky heat spilling over him.

"You are so damned sensitive," Ichigo said huskily, plucking at the sleek knot he had discovered rising from Rukia's softness.

"I-Ichigo," Rukia said brokenly, "what are you doing to me?"

"Does it hurt?" he asked in a soft husky rasp.

"No, but—oh?"

Rukia's words were squeezed into silence as ecstasy's vise closed around her. Ichigo caressed her slowly, watching her, smiling as her heat blossomed once more between their bodies.

Rukia felt dazed and awash with entirely new sensations she had never heretofore felt before. Letting Ichigo touch her like this wasn't exactly a hardship despite the shock of his mastery over her body. She had always been coined as an Ice Queen in the world of the Oneroi. It was a defense mechanism for dealing with the unwanted opinions of those of her people. And protected her from the cold malicious bullying of the Oneroi, while it shielded her when she was left gasping in pain after receiving punishment for crimes she did not commit. She'd spent all her formative years hiding behind it. Regardless of the new emotions she had now, it was still a habit.

Nevertheless, she was starting to feel fissures in the ice wall she tried to keep resurrected. Emotions, feelings, and useless sensations were bombarding her from every vantage point, completely pulling down all her defenses.

Rukia clutched his thick forearm in front of her as heat spread through her body. It burned in a tingling rush up her legs as the fire in her feminine sheathe and bottom intensified. When dazed eyes turned up to Ichigo, he dipped down to claim her soft delectable lips. Unable to be gentle with his kiss, he plunged into her depths with a hard invasive push he needed so desperately elsewhere with his cock. In spite of the raging torment that racked his body; his hands remained tender and patient, insistently guiding her into passion's inferno.

The luscious little body in his arms started to tremble, so he increased the pressure on her clit and thrust deeper into her tight rear. With the same hand on her clit, he slid his middle finger deep into her sheath and curled his finger against that inner ridge. The double penetration and the constant rubbing of his rough callused thumb along her clit proved to be too much stimulation for her.

Fireworks exploded throughout her body, causing her to spasmodically jerk on his thrusting fingers as he swallowed her whimper of release from her mouth. His fingers continued to manipulate her unrelentingly—thrusting into both her bottom and her tight sheath, while two rough digits gripped her slippery clit and pinched down hard, shooting a new fireball of passion up her body.

Once again, Ichigo swallowed her scream as she collapsed against him, no longer able to support her own weight as her body came a second time before the first was complete. When the trembling finally subsided to manageable levels, he lifted his mouth and smiled down at the panting woman in his arms while his fingers continue to pet both entrances into her body.

"That was an orgasm, wasn't it?" she gasped in wide eyed shock.

Ichigo smirked devilishly, and corrected her. "Two orgasms actually," he rasped huskily in her ear. His hands slowly and reluctantly removed themselves from her lush, wet, and tight heat to caress up her body. The one in front drifted to her breasts to pinch, stroke, and cup dainty mounds. His thumb rubbed over her nipple firmly and she shuddered in renewed aftershocks.

While her heart continued to beat rapidly, Ichigo stepped back and put them under the water again. Reluctantly he let go of her to rinse the suds off of her body, before setting her a safe distance away from the water in front of him to wet his own hair and body.

As Rukia watched him shampoo his hair and roughly lather soap all over his own body, she could feel the waves of repressed desire that reached out to her and pulled her into a confusing maelstrom of unappeased lust. It left her feeling unfulfilled, incomplete, and unsatisfied despite the wondrous physical reactions he was able to coax from her untried body.

There was an urgent call from his body for her to help him . . ._ soothe him_.

It was the job of the Succubi to relieve the pent-up sexual frustrations of men. But how she would do this in the human world without her powers was a point of contention in her mind. She'd never touched a human before. Despite her in-depth knowledge of such intimate activities, Rukia was at an impasse about how to approach him.

Rukia's eyes traveled over his wide, muscled chest, the torso below undulated with ridges leading her to narrow hips and the fascinating equipment between them. _Fascinating?_ Never before in her duties had she considered the male equipage as _fascinating_. Her gaze centered on the heavy erection and she couldn't look away. She stood there dumbly and just stared at him.

Dragging her eyes upward, she silently contemplated the small smirk that appeared over Ichigo's mouth despite his closed eyes under the shower spray. Reminded of a move she'd seen countless times and had helped incite in fantasies of many men, she took a step forward.

Suddenly, without conscious thought; Rukia leaned forward and dragged her tongue across a male nipple then immediately sucked it gently into her mouth.

Immediately, Ichigo's eyes snapped open to the burning of soap suds in his eyes in surprised shock. Believing that his fantasies were playing a trick on his blurry senses, he dipped his head back under the water to wash his face of the blinding soap suds.

The continued warmth of Rukia's mouth—and her tongue—against Ichigo's chest drew a low oath from him. He left his head under the running water, pausing in indecision. He was walking a tightrope blindly, where he wavered to go forward or backward. His logical mind waged war in his body, yet his need to merge with her prevented him from pulling away completely.

With a sigh that sent her breath rushing over Ichigo's chest, Rukia bent her head and caressed him with her mouth once more. The sleek texture of Ichigo's skin stretching over supple muscle intrigued Rukia's tongue, as did the taut line of tendon up Ichigo's neck. She decided that his chest was made for nuzzling and nibbling upon, as was the hard little nub.

Without understanding why, Rukia closed her teeth on the nub and bit delicately, causing him to unconsciously thrust his chest out more towards her mouth in eagerness. Rukia's tongue probed repeatedly, her teeth biting gently all the while. As she switched to his other nipple, she enjoyed the shivers of sensation that coursed through her own flesh while she explored Ichigo. At the same time her mouth caressed, bit, suckled one nipple; she slowly plucked and teased the other.

In the midst of toying with his chest, she realized that touching Ichigo was more than merely pleasant. It made her shiver with enjoyment . . . and a bit of apprehension. Her analytical mind was seething with warnings, yet her body was moving as if in a trance. With a will of its own, her hands moved unerringly downward.

Before Ichigo could guess Rukia's intentions, he felt small hands attach themselves to his erection. His mouth sputtered open and immediately began choking on a unsuspecting mouth full of water, as he suddenly felt her lips let go of his chest.

Immediately she slid down his body like a warm, supple weight, vanishing entirely beneath the luxurious hot water—hungry for him in a way that she couldn't name.

While she melted to her knees, Ichigo's hands abruptly flashed forward to the walls of the shower stall steadying himself as his body clenched and jerked in response to the close proximity of her mouth to his cock.

"Rukia! What the hell are you doing?" he gasped out in shock. He groaned and bit back a searing curse. Sweat broke over his whole body.

Rukia's fingertips found the single, unseeing eye and explored it delicately while Ichigo's passionate words sent streamers of heat through her. His words flicked at her like a whip of fire, flushing her skin, making her breath shorten. Her hands slipped lower as unfamiliar sensations made her whole body tremble. Her fingertips found the taut, aching spheres that held generations yet unborn. Curiously, caressingly, Rukia explored his very different flesh.

"R-Rukia!, Stop . . . ." He hoarsely begged.

Ichigo's words ended in a gasp as her cheek smoothed over his erect flesh. Her skin was cool from standing away from the water and her breath was warm from her body. It whispered over him in another kind of caress as she turned her head from side to side, stroking him. Then she caught him between her hands and brought him to her mouth.

While her hands stroked him, her mouth explored him with a growing urgency she didn't question. His whole body tightened like a bow. Had he not been leaning against the wall, he would have fallen. Rukia's mouth was hot, soft, and wet. Her tongue was endlessly curious.

Ichigo could only stare down in amazement as she held his cock securely between both hands and fed it into her mouth. With her mouth barely able to contain his wide girth, her lips sealed around him as her hot, wet little tongue slithered around and around the head of his cock.

Gulping desperately, he watched her head start to move. The firm suction she applied with each pull removed all coherent thought from his brain. He braced bulging arms more firmly against the walls, spread his legs for further balance, and hung on to the last remaining frayed edges of control.

Rukia tried not to hurt him while exploring his long thick shaft with firm slick hands. She couldn't believe something so swollen, throbbing and reddened was not hurting him. But every queue he gave her told another story. He groaned in a deep rumbling sound as soon as she had touched him. When his hips jerked, her curiously hot eyes went to his face. It was set in a grimace of pained pleasure.

Her hands immediately went to work on the rest of him. Apparently, she could be easily distracted with a hard body. Except those busy hands eventually found their way down to the throbbing erection and tight balls she couldn't stop looking at.

_Sweet mother of God, this was torture_, he decided. A breathtaking torture he'd be willing to endure for the next 100 years if not more.

_She was bold and aggressive._

_Too desirable for words._

_Fuck, fuck, fuck._

_No damn it, that's what you want to do, not what you're going to do._

Ichigo's fingers curled into fist against the shower walls, resisting the call of his body to lift her up and make a liar of him as he fantasized about thrusting in her sweet tight virgin sheath.

Her small fists worked the thick root of him as she sucked over his inflamed head with increasing speed and pressure. Soon enough however, Rukia became disappointed over his rigid control of his body. Even in this, he refused to surrender control to her. His resistance only inflamed her desire to force him to submit.

Releasing one hand from his thick shaft, she slowly grasped his testicles gently. Then popping her mouth off his cock, she leaned down and gently sucked one sack inside her mouth. While she tongued the soft skin in her mouth, her hand furtively reached in between his legs and slid along the still soapy residue behind him. Coating her fingers with the slick suds, she easily slipped her finger inside his own virgin orifice to his complete shock.

"Enough," he gasped desperately. "You can't . . . ."

Despite his protests, he made no move to pull away. In fact, a subtle shimmy towards a deeper penetration gave lie to his verbal words. With victory near her grasp, she released his testicles and returned her mouth to his weeping cock.

Ichigo panted in continued disbelief, his eyes had closed as his body thrust into her fist with each stroke of her finger to that special spot inside him.

The thought of being able to fell with a mere caress this mortal man whose body flexed powerfully beneath her hands disarmed Rukia. She repeated the caresses, thrilling to the sense of power it gave her to so affect him.

While Rukia watched in fascination, the shaft in her hands expanded even more as the head turned an angry-looking red. Each time her tongue swept over the bulging head, she found a silky salty substance she wished she had time to investigate. His body began to tremble uncontrollably, every muscle clenched and defined. His muscular thighs propelled each plunge and he groaned deeply. She saw his flat abdomen tremble and he gasped, "No."

He barked out an exclamation that wasn't a word and gulped in air harshly. His face was tense in a look of an almost pain like reaction to her. Resolve strengthening her ambition, she relaxed her jaw and swallowed him whole as she deep throated him . . . .

The fire of release streaked up his body with white-hot explosions, while Rukia drew the fluid from his soul as her greedy mouth pulled and swallowed every drop that erupted out of him. She worked him hard until he slumped back against the wall in trembling shock, drawing his cock from her mouth.

For a while he was too dazed to notice that she had dropped to her hands and knees, panting with her hands balling into fists. When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with so much spent passion that she looked absolutely dazed and as confused as him. A small stream of white semen trailed from one corner of her mouth before she wiped it away with the back of her hand.

He gazed down at her blankly as she regarded him from her knees. Slowly she rose to her feet; while he slid down the wall, unable to support his weight any longer. When he sat on the floor of the shower looking up, she calmly stated, "You aren't the only one with power." She raised one brow haughtily and stepped out of the shower on slightly unsteady legs.

Ichigo thought his brain might explode. He still felt dizzy—her little hands wrapped around his cock was better sex than pounding most women into the mattress. He was still speechless on everything else she had done to him . . . . . Perhaps, releasing control occasionally wouldn't be as bad as he had always believed, he thought lecherously. Gathering himself off the floor, he shut off the shower after giving himself a quick rinse and stumbled out. Grabbing a towel, he quickly rubbed some of the excess water off of his steaming body.

Seeing his seed inside her mouth was a visual that moved him in an elemental way. Oh yeah, keeping her naked and covered with his cum felt right. Suddenly he understood the urge to mark a woman in the most primitive way possible. He wanted his cum in her, on her. It stated ownership on a cellular level. His drive to establish ownership of this woman was a base animal response that would not be denied.

As soon as the fog of his orgasm faded, his lust began to rise again as he caught sight of his quarry retreating swiftly away. Stalking stealthily towards her wet and dripping form, Ichigo looped the towel around her—effectively lassoing her into a halt. Unresistingly, Rukia turned around to stare into his eyes while he silently used the towel to lightly dry her form. But with the beautiful bounty before him, he soon forgot the menial task of drying her.

Ichigo's hands came up slowly to fold her into his embrace. He brought his lips to hers and licked along the seam of her closed mouth. Her hands clutched his biceps, while he slowly kissed his way into her mouth, gently, leisurely invading her this time.

When her lips parted to accept him, he took the time to explore her teeth, the soft interior of her cheeks and finally stroke her tongue. He insidiously turned up the heat, pressing her along the length of his body. One hand went to her bottom, cupping it to bring her into him while the other cradled her head as he sucked her tongue into his mouth. Lifting her up high, those gorgeous legs wrapped around his waist and kept his cock crammed right where he wanted it to be.

Following the instincts of her own need, Rukia brought Ichigo to the tight sheath that passion had transformed in a sultry, aching emptiness. She shifted; pressing herself against the rigid flesh lust had conjured from Ichigo's body. Undulating against his turgid flesh, she whimpered at the fevered emotions swamping through her. Her soft petals rubbed over him, moistening him as surely as her mouth had. The next motion of her hips over him hit the exact sweet spot and everything just clicked into place.

A long unraveling sigh rippled from Rukia as she felt Ichigo parting her, penetrating her, stretching her uncomfortably . . . but not hurting her. The wonder of the sensuous joining trembled through her, ecstasy delicately raking her, calling a shimmering, passionate rain from her depths.

It made her want more. _Much more. _But she wasn't certain how to accomplish it. All she knew was that the feel of his blunt arousal caressing her made her want . . . something.

Ichigo groaned as he felt Rukia's sultry petals parting and gliding over him. Harshly he fought to control the need that had become a living thing tearing at his loins.

She shivered with pure pleasure at the feel of him gently lodged between her thighs. Ecstasy swept through her in a hot, secret storm. The breaking of Ichigo's breath and the sudden thrust of his body against her told Rukia that he had felt her sultry rain as surely as she had.

While he was busily attacking her lips and mouth, he blindly maneuvered towards his bed and lowered them both down onto it. With her beneath him, he could now take dominant control of teasing her sweet luscious folds with his shallowly thrusting cock and use his hands for further convincing. His whole body rubbed sensually over her as he ate at her mouth. His hands gravitated to those delectable breasts and hard fingers plucked the little pebbles atop them. Soon after, his lips followed and sucked those little compelling little nubs deep into his mouth.

Rukia's body knew it liked this now—it exploded into flames as soon as he touched her. Every inch of her wanted his caress and every one of those inches was determined to ignore the logical virgin shrieking at them from her brain. The only plans her body was willing to hear about were the ones that let him do whatever he pleased.

The sultry eagerness of Rukia's body drew forth a single hot pulse of response from Ichigo. He eased his way even more deeply into her, until he was teasingly butting against the only sign of her chastity. Even partially sheathed, Ichigo felt more perfectly coupled with a woman than he had ever been in his life.

She whimpered and clenched around Ichigo's tip so tightly that he could barely breathe for the pleasure she gave him. The sensation off being held within a sleek, loving vise was extraordinary. He knew he should spare her, yet he wanted only to delve more deeply, pushing himself in to the hilt.

Unable to speak, Rukia clung to Ichigo, shivering with the violence of her response to being filled so perfectly by him, if only for a few moments.

Ichigo released one rosy hard nub from his mouth's capture, then turned to her mouth and swooped down, fastening his lips over hers. His kiss invaded her forcefully. Sweeping into her mouth, he sucked the last remnants of his semen's taste back deep into his body, stroking over tongue, teeth and soft tissue with masterful demand. His hands gathered her upper body against his, pressing into her hard. Her arms wound around his neck and she groaned into his mouth.

Insistently he drew on her, his hands roaming her body. Plucking and squeezing her breast, gliding down to her ass, he filled his hands with it and roughly cuddled it. All thought, logic, and promises were nothing but gnats his other senses quickly swatted away.

Beneath him, Ichigo's hand shifted until he could stroke the very petals that were stretched so tightly around him. While the head of his cock was pushing insistently inside her tight virgin's path, forsaking his vow . . . .

About the same time as Rukia could feel her body begin to slowly give way to the impending invasion, she jerked her head away from Ichigo's enrapturing mouth and stiffened in a state of sudden panicked pain.

Her hands abruptly clutched her head in pain. Only one word reverberated through her head before darkness overtook her.

_Kaien...._

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ABADDON

A demon glared balefully at the snowflake amulet cradled carefully in his hands. While he watched, a single tip from the snowflake broke off and shattered upon impact with the hard floor.

The sounds of the tinkling upon the floor was a bad omen.

_Time was running out._

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A/N:

I hope the angry mob chasing me will lay down the prodding pitchforks now. Sorry about the delay. I had a couple of setbacks with injury, work, sick kid, loopy drugs, holidays, and illnesses. It sucks getting old. The length should make up for the tardiness, it was roughly 12 pages in Word. I debated about cutting it in half to release something earlier, but then you guys would start raising the pitchforks again at ending mid smut. LOL

I really hope that it was worth the wait. Despite what I've written previously, it's actually my first foray into pure smut without having to build up little details about the world, characteristics, tension, plot and etc. So I'm a little nervous on how this turned out. Because of the length I ended up taking about 3.5 weeks to write this. So while some of you lost hope and thought I dropped this story, my pervy fingers were busily writing this chapter when I could get time (and when my munchkin wasn't messing with my keys, mouse, and jumping all over my back—what a mood killer.). So I really hope you liked it.

Please review and let me know what you thought. Were you surprised? Did you really think they would go all the way through? Was it hot enough? Too mechanical and cold? Did it end up too cheesy?

My injuries and illness still plague me, so my updates are going to become less frequent. It's always taken me a full 7 days to write and revise, so the soonest I can update is every other week if I'm lucky enough to find the time. Unfortunately, the DH is now banning me from my PC 4 nights out of 7, a week. With the smut I've been writing, I haven't been able to write it at work either.

By the way, in addition to the physical and social road blocks, I also took some time off to release another short story. If you haven't read it yet, "Howl at the Moon" was released as my homage to gothic horror romance. Many readers have voiced that they liked that story more than this one, so I'd recommend it if you like my style of writing.

I expect to begin writing a dark animalistic smutty chapter for Howl in the near future, so that will further delay a new chapter of Dream as I wrap up that short story. As Howl appears to be my most popular story to date, I will be devoting all my attention to it until it is completed. It should wrap up in 2-3 chapters, and then I'll be back to Dream consistently.

As always, thanks goes out to everyone who has taken the time to review. I really appreciate that. They really do encourage me to continue despite the DH telling me to stop. Also, thanks for all the well wishes and anonymous reviewers out there too.

~Fathom


	20. Chapter 20: Follow the White Rabbit

**Title: **_**Dream of Me**_

**Chapter 20: Follow the White Rabbit**

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_Infinite darkness surrounded her…. _

_Hopelessness, loneliness, and sadness permeated the endless space. She floated in this timeless void, until she could scarce remember a time when she wasn't in this life filled with this bleak void. Even her name was long forgotten like a speck of dust in the distance. Soon enough, even emotions were meaningless and nothing could break the ice of cold stoicism in her heart. There was no hope and without hope, she continued to drift aimlessly uncaring as centuries passed by._

_However, today was different. An odd ripple of disturbance broke through the barrier of her heart. Like a lighthouse reflecting its light on a foggy shore to hapless blind ships, she saw a small white rabbit hopping away in the distance in this world which she had always been alone. _

_Curious, she strove to catch this anomaly. So intent was she upon her goal, and the closer she got to her destination. Unnoticed, the world around her began changing and before she realized it she was caught in a maelstrom of images and color. Her last thought before the world swallowed her whole was that nothing would be the same…._

* * *

When she opened her eyes, she stared upon the old decrepit thatch roof slightly confused by her surroundings. Out of nowhere, a grinning face leaned over her into her sleep fogged eyes. Black hair, teal aquamarine eyes….

_Kaien?_

"Hey shrimp! I got a gift for you!" said the smiling countenance after he knuckled her head lightly first.

Before she could ask him what he meant after squirming away from his knuckles, his other hand plopped a small soft object on her chest. Her eyes widened in wonder and her infantile hands automatically reached out to bury itself in the soft white fur of the rabbit. It was trembling in uncertain fear and trepidation.

_Be safe, I will not harm you._

Immediately, the trembling stopped and it cocked its head uncertainly. Slowly, it shyly hopped itself towards her face and snuffled her cheeks while she squealed in delight.

"I thought you might like it. I didn't want you to be alone when the time came." He sadly commented with a brief catch of heartache in his voice.

_You worry too much, Kaien. I will soon be with you. You will always be with me, won't you? There's a whole world out there you promised to teach me._

"Of course. I am one of the best after all." He proudly tapped himself on the chest as he boasted.

Despite his cheerful façade, she could tell something was bothering him.

Briefly ignoring the rabbit clamoring for attention, she was just about to question him when she felt a chill of terror cascade through all of her senses.

_Kaien! Run!_

But it was too late for him…and for her.

The door burst open and her vision was blocked in her current position. Before she could react, blood and white feathers drifted throughout the room. A piece of iridescent cloth slowly drifted down towards her hand. Automatically, she gripped the piece and hid it in her hand while she tried to calm the rabbit that quivered in terror from the blood bath going on in the room.

Pain and death vibrated through her, and for countless moments sadness and loss weighed down on her. With the last of her strength, and before the final spark of Kaien evaporated; she reached with her whole being and concentrating on anchoring that small remaining speck to her unbeknownst to her attacker.

_Kaien, I'm sorry…. _

Soon enough, frightening bloodied talons reached towards her chest and ripped away the cloth bundling her and viciously tossed the rabbit far away. She was slightly relieved to dimly hear uneven hopping on the wet bloodied floor towards freedom, most likely leaving a small trail of bloody rabbit prints outside. Her last memory before darkness overtook her was that Kaien's blood mingled with hers as pain and terror ripped through her small body unintentionally sealing the ritual that she had initiated.

Outside the room, a horrified scream rang in the distance.

_Hisana, I forgive you…._

_She dreamed throughout that night. Lying on the thin mattress, the ceaseless noise of prison pressing down on her. Visions of blood and sex and death, surrounding her, smothering her. But when she opened her eyes, cold and sweating in the dark cell, there was no one there. No one to hold her, comfort her, tell her it was nothing but a nightmare. No one to promise that the darkness couldn't touch her, and couldn't hurt her. No one to make her believe in happy endings. Only the knowledge that darkness was all around her, death lived in her soul, and her hands were stained with blood._

* * *

A/N:

Sorry for the extremely long delay. Job promotions, lack of Bleach interest, pregnancy, birth of my twins….It's been a very busy time for me.

I had this chapter partially written since March of 2009, but it was never finished and edited. Still not finished with everything I wanted to put into yet.

I decided to release this as is, since so many people have requested it. I still plan on finishing up all my stories…some day.

Thank you for the continued interests in my stories. I really appreciate everyone who took the time to review them.


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